Soulmates
by Thefolder96
Summary: While Veronica has been away for the summer, Archie's feelings for someone else are rekindled.
1. Chapter 1

Archie Andrews' eyes stirred as he heard his alarm clock rang. It was another day of pouring cement for the summer. This summer was different, as Andrews Constructions was under the leash of Lodge Enterprises, much to the reluctance of Fred Andrews himself. After Clifford Blossom's demise, Fred regained his original crew and was able to continue the normal schedule. What supplanted his reluctance was his need to provide for his son, Archie, and... Jughead Jones.

Archie gazed over and saw Jughead was still asleep on his inflated mattress. Jughead had been staying with the Andrews since his father had been incarcerated for kidnapping Jason Blossom for ransom, although more often than not, Jughead would find his way over at the Cooper's. Tiptoeing out of the room, Archie made his way downstairs.

"Top off the morning skipper, much earlier than the last two days, I think that work ethic is finally making you into a man," Fred Andrews grinned, before sipping on his coffee.

"So does that mean I'll be able to finally operate the bulldozer," he asked, already knowing the answer.

"You just barely have had your license. What makes you think you're ready for the Big Leagues when you can barely parallel park?

"Dad, I don't think there are too many places where you really need to parallel park in Riverdale. At least until Hiram Lodge builds five more strip malls and a giant town centre."

Fred chuckled. "By that time, you can drive around your new beau. God willing Hiram Lodge doesn't push to bankrupt me out of spite. Then you would probably have to settle for driving a jalopy..."

"We're not a... I've been talking to her and texting over the summer but I wouldn't call us a _thing._ I guess we'll see what happens." Veronica had gone to Paris with her mother for the summer to stay under the radar while Hiram had setup his estate in Riverdale.

"Do you miss her?" he asked intently.

Archie paused, taking a breath before answering. "I do... but not in the same way as I felt when I was missing someone else."

"Dear God, you don't mean..."

"No dad, not her. Someone else, and it's not exactly the same kind of thing."

After finishing their breakfast, Archie and his father made their way to the construction site, only to meet two see unexpected figures: Hermione and Veronica Lodge.

"Fred, good to see you again. I come bearing gifts," Hermione said. She held a decently sized plastic bag full of souvenirs, while using her other arm to hug Fred. Fred accepted the hug in a very obsequious manner.

"Hermione, I wasn't expecting to see you here considering the circumstances of our last meeting".

Hermione let out a restrained response. "Fred, even though I'm now the COO of Lodge Industries, doesn't mean we will stop having a working relationship. Hiram wants me to routinely make firsthand reports of the progress."

"I'm sure it's strictly based on professional reasons. Nothing else," Fred scoffed.

"Yes Fred, because you hired me strictly based on professional reasons."

Unbeknownst to their parents, Archie and Veronica had quietly moved away from their parent's kerfuffle and had been catching up on what happened during the summer- at least what they had not talked about earlier through phone conversations and texts. Veronica talked extensively about how she preferred the wider range options of French cuisine compared to Riverdale, while Archie talked about how he was reading more poetry for musical inspiration.

"I was wondering if you were going to bring back some guy named Pierre," Archie joked.

"Archie Andrews, ye of little faith. I should be more worried about you given your impressive track record the past year."

"Well in that case, I'm going to be having a much less interesting year this year." Archie planted a kiss on her cheek as they continued walking with both their hands held together.

"Archie, my dad hasn't- you know- done anything, has he?" Veronica asked cautiously. "I'm just taking a gander that by the fact your dad's face is still intact- and good-looking, I may add- I figured nothing too crazy has happened."

Archie's face looked down in consternation. "My dad has not been in contact with Hiram at all this year. He's been communicating through one of his associates. Otherwise, nothing. No company e-mail or nothing. My dad would be relieved if he weren't fearing some kind of... retribution?"

"Good to see you've been studying your vocabulary over the summer, given I recall you not knowing the word "wistful."

"That's what hours of reading poetry will get you. Maybe I can show you some I wrote this summer. Some I actually wrote... about you."

Veronica looked overjoyed but before she could say anything, Archie's dad called from the distance. "Archie, we're behind schedule. We need to finish this section by today."

Archie looked at Veronica meekly. "Pop's later tonight?"

"That would be lovely," she answered gleefully.

Fred's crew worked tirelessly that day, feeling a little worn out from the more humid than usual temperature found during the dog days of summer. Archie was kind of relieved summer was nearly ending. It meant only working during weekends, and even then football games took a bulk of that time, so he more often than not worked every other weekend. When Archie got home, he was anxious to take a shower and maybe play a video game or two before dinner. When he entered his room, he instead saw two people inside, one of whom was his soulmate.

"Archie," Betty said surprised. "I'm sorry to have come in without asking."


	2. Love in High Places

A/N: Yes, I know Fred was recently shot in the last episode but I wrote the first chapter before that episode aired, so a few plot points are different. Archie and Fred's father/son dynamic is my favorite on the show, so I don't want the show to lose that. I do not own any of the Archie characters, they belong to Archie Comics and The CW.

Archie stood there moderately startled before finally saying: "Bets, no. It's good to- what have you guys been up to?" Archie noticed a displacement of lipstick on Jughead's neck.

"Jugs and I just got back from working at the bookstore. He told me about this short story he was writing and I really wanted to check it out."

"It's about a group of cross country runners that stumble upon a an abandoned tomb. It has a very Lovecraftian feel to it," Jughead said. "I got the inspiration from all the long runs we've been doing over the summer."

"Those runs have definitely helped his already great metabolism," Betty chuckled, before resting her head on his shoulder. Archie decided to quell his jealousy by shifting his focus to folding the clothes that sat on his bed.

"Jughead decided to take up joining the team after running with me a lot during the summer. It's cool all of us are doing sports now," Archie responded, trying to sound not too facetious.

"-Meaning you're no longer ashamed to hang out with me because I'm only now somewhat of a perpetual outcast," Jughead replied. Betty began to look a bit uncomfortable

"No Jug, it's just that- after all that's gone on this past year, it's good you found a hobby... that doesn't involve being wrapped up in a murder investigation," Archie explained.

"We can't all be the golden boy like you Archie. Someone from my side of town is relegated to the status of being bronze or iron, just like how Nebuchadnezzar saw it in his dream. The cherubic looking redhead will always stay on top."

To Archie's great relief, Fred called Jughead downstairs since he had a received phone call. As Jughead walked out, Archie and Betty gave each other apologetic looks.

"Sorry for the gamey smell in here. I just got back from a long day at work and haven't had the chance to take a shower. Not to mention Jughead's usual standard of cleanliness," Archie finally said, trying to find a way to break the ice.

"Don't worry, I've been around the girls locker room. A different kind of worse if you know what I mean," Betty laughed.

"I don't think I'll ever want too." Archie felt a little tense when talking to Betty. He had not talked to her much during the summer at all. Jughead and Betty were almost always seen together and Archie did not feel like being the third wheel. And for the fact that he did not like how his best friend was someone else's girlfriend. _I just had to talk about how my room smelled, he thought._

"Veronica texted me a little while ago. She just got back today. Have you talked to her at all?"

"I actually met her today. I think she's happy to finally be back. I'm glad she is back too, I missed having someone to hang out with." Archie said this with an expectation of what Betty would say next.

"I would have invited you to hang out sometime, but I've just been so in-between work, interning at _The Register_ , helping Polly..."

"It's ok. Veronica and I were actually going to Pop's later. Maybe you and Jughead could go with us?"

"Jug was actually going to go visit his dad tonight. I don't think we could make it."

"Maybe you could join me and Veronica? I'm sure she wouldn't mind?"

Betty did a semi-flinch before responding. "Archie, with all due respect, I don't think she would be a fan of that. I think she's going under the pretenses that it would be a date. Plus Polly has been feeling sick lately so I think I'm going to just hang out with my family tonight."

"I was just asking because- Tell Polly I said hi", Archie finished, wanting to end the conversation to feel less embarrassed.

"I will Archie. You take care of yourself and your dad. And if you need anything, don't be a stranger." Betty kissed him on the cheek and walked out the room.

Archie had been hoping for that kiss for a while. Unfortunately, it came under different circumstances. After he kissed her in the second grade, he always thought they would be together for the long haul, just like how he saw Bruce and Rachel come together in _Batman Begins_ after watching it as a kid. As he got older, however, reality set in. Dreams that were once expectations amended themselves with time. He once thought he was going to play in the NFL as a ten-year- old. He now knew he was lucky enough to make the varsity team. More recently, he thought he had a chance have a serious career as an artist. Now that was looking even more like a pipe dream. But Betty- Betty felt like a given; a constant.

Archie walked downstairs to find both Betty and Jughead and his father working on paperwork on the kitchen table.

"I'm going to head to Pop's tonight. Do you want me to bring you anything back?" Archie asked.

"Leaving the old man by himself once again," Fred piped in. "I'm fine. Have fun and be careful."

Archie arrived to the restaurant about fifteen minutes where he noticed Pop's was busier than usual, with cars parked that had a more rustic appearance found normally on the south side of Riverdale. He found his raven haired girlfriend siting by herself at that group's 'usual spot.'

"Archiekins, you know the way straight to my heart. Some guys tried in France tried to woo me by offering to take me to the fanciest place they could afford in Paris. You keep it simple: chocolate shakes and cheeseburgers."

"You're starting to sound like Jughead. By the way, do you know what the word 'cherubic' means? He threw out that word in some kind of semi-roast about me enjoying the privileges of being popular. At least that's what I think he meant"

Veronica grinned. "Archie, I'm just going on a whim here but I think this lashing out by Jughead is based on jealousy. He looks up to you but sometimes that presents itself as a frustration. You guys are practically brothers now. You guys live together."

"I think it's more than that Ronnie. I think he has this fear that I'm waiting in the wings to take Betty away from him- It's completely irrational. I'm not interested in doing that at all." Archie scratched his nose as Pops approached to the two of them.

"Just the two of you today, huh," Pops quipped. "So is the check going on to be on the young man?"

Veronica looked like she was going to speak up before Archie interceded. "Yeah, that's fine."

After Pops took there orders, Veronica looked befuddled. "Archie, I'm going to walk on very thin ice, but you know you didn't have to do that. I know your dad has practically become Jughead's new guardian and my family is well... well-off enough."

"It's fine. I made plenty during the summer and I'm not going to get all offended that you offered to help out. I appreciate it but I'm doing okay. We're doing okay- my family that is." Archie laid his palms flat on the table. His hand would still ache occasionally from the sprain he suffered a few months ago.

"Speaking of 'doing okay'. We never actually talked about the status of 'us". But, I feel I like I don't have to ask so..."

"Ronnie, do you think I would spend an inordinate amount of time writing poetry about someone who I thought was just a friend. We're fine."

" _Fine_ ," Veronica responded in a playful yet investigative tone.

"We're better than ever," Archie corrected. "The moment I saw you and your mom back on our worksite was the happiest I have felt this summer." Archie reached his arm across the table to hold her hand.

The two would finish their dinner about a half an hour later. Veronica had been picked up by Smithers and Archie was about to get in his car until he noticed one of his tires had been slashed.

"No offense kid, but we have to send your father a message." Archie suddenly felt a whirl of pain to his head as he fell to the ground. A tall figure who had covered his face using a red bandana and a black beanie was towering above him.

Archie checked to make sure he did not have a knife. His right hand was still recovering so he decided to test his luck with his left. Remembering to bend his wrist, Archie lunged forward and punched with minimal force. The unfamiliar reverse feeling in his stance caused him to lose balance and slip onto the ground.

"Now I don't feel too bad. You're damn stupid." The hooded figure began kicking Archie until he too was knocked back in the ground thanks to a good samaritan coming in to freight-train him. Archie did not see who was he right away because he had turned away to avoid being kicked in the chest. He heard his good samaritan yell in pain and subsequently the fast footsteps of his assailant.

"Archie, are you okay?" Moose asked, holstering him back on his feet as the hooded figure took off. Moose was wincing and holding his scrotum with his other hand. Archie knew that dreaded feeling all to well.

"Fine, thanks to you. I guess we're just the lucky ones, eh?" Archie was about to call his dad before Smithers's limo rolled back into the parking lot.

"Archie, your dad called me to tell me to pick you up. He's finally meeting my dad," Veronica said.


	3. Secret Meetings

A/N: Thank you all for the positive feedback so far. Feel free to leave more reviews. I appreciate all the feedback, whether it is positive or constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Archie characters. They are property of Archie Comics and The CW.

"Fred, can I get you a beer or anything. I have of all the domestic stuff, not just the craft stuff you probably think I only have."

"I'm fine Hiram. I've given up drinking since last year. I appreciate the sentiment though."

Fred had made his way to the Lodge Estate after receiving a call shortly after Archie had left. As much as Fred detested having to go there, he had no choice since he was technically an employee under Lodge Industries. Hiram probably knew of his DUI as his boss, so Fred felt a little perturbed by that question.

"I like your truck by the way. Is that the new Ford model?" Hiram asked.

"Hiram, I don't think you invited me over here to be all buddy-buddy. If that were the case, you would have talked to me when we first broke work this summer instead of..."

"No Fred, you'd rather be buddy-buddy with my wife."

Fred's heart escalated up a few beats. He knew this moment was coming for a long time but the in-moment reality of facing it was still scary. Nevertheless, Fred was still focused on maintaining professionalism for the sake of Archie and Jughead.

"Ok there it is, you got it off your chest. Hiram, man-to-man, I will tell you that I would not have pursued it if I knew we would be under the current circumstances."

"Meaning that you thought I would be in the slammer for the rest of my life." Hiram put his hands on the table, leaving a smear on the glass thanks to his sweaty palms.

"I thought Hermione had moved on. Apparently you didn't when you sent a bunch of thugs to beat up a sixteen-year old who was doing voluntary construction."

Hiram tugged on the collar of his shirt. He knew Fred was correct and lying about it would not work so he tried his best to do damage control. "The plan was to just damage property. I did not intend them to hurt anyone and had no idea you were hiring so young."

Fred's fist formed so tightly that his veins looked like they were going to pop out. "So that makes it ok? I'm just some pushover who is going to get steamrolled- I actually can use a steamroll. I had to work my whole life. While you were taking tennis lessons, I was out hammering in nails in 100 degree weather. So yeah, no wonder Hermione wanted me over you in high school. And it's damn clear why she wanted me while you were in jail."

Hiram chuckled. "Fred, if I were going to physically endanger you or any of your crew, I would have done so already. Nothing has gone wrong since you've broken ground last Spring and it would be in my benefit to keep it that way. I had the biggest PR nightmare anyone could have ever asked for and I'm not going to lose everything I had again. I love my daughter too much," Hiram coughed. "And apparently your son does too."

Fred looked around astounded. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to say if I had the 'talk' with my son yet."

"Apparently you already have since your son was engaged in some activity... with an adult."

"He did what! How did you... Shit. Alice Cooper told you Good to know I have half the town against me now." Fred put his hands over his head and sighed. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about again. Fred once forgot to turn off the lights to the trailer before the weekend and it forced him to cancel a new shipment of tools to cover the cost. It was a type of mistake that you thought would disappear into the sunset, but the sun would rise and beam down harder than before. This mistake seemed to beam down extra hard.

"Don't worry, this won't get out as long as you don't go spouting that I sent those guys from Montreal. I won't even force Veronica away from Archie, god willing she would ever listen to me anyway. I'm just telling you to be respectful of my family." Hiram looked much calmer than before.

"So you're blackmailing me..." Fred interjected, tapping his foot and kept his focus on the Lodge's grandfather clock in the living room in an effort to redirect his anger.

"No, I'm doing this to make sure that bygones can be bygones. That things can run smoothly for my business and we can ensure a better future for both our kids. Speaking of which, the reason I brought you here is for a job offer. I want you to be the Head of Construction Management in Lodge Industries." Hiram gazed at him intently while saying this.

"As your employee, I respectfully decline", Fred began saying facetiously. "You have no idea how much _Andrews Construction_ means to me. I'm not leaving it"

"The pay would be double. Not to mention, you are now the guardian of two kids who would be attending college at the same time. You don't want to have to make a tough..."

Fred stood up infuriated. "When I accepted the deal to be bought by you, I made sure I got to keep my business name as a subsidiary company. I did it to give my guys sustainability. I never had nor never will have intentions of joining Lodge Industries."

"And you think as the head of a _subsidiary_ that it's smart to bite the hand that feeds you?" Hiram nearly shouted.

"Feed me? I'll tell you something straight from Hermione herself. Lodge Industries needs to be in business with people like me. You're not in the driver seat anymore, Hiram. Like it or not."

In a suspiciously as a matter of fact fashion, Hermione came into the living room. "Fred, I got a call from Veronica. Apparently, Archie got attacked at Pop Tate's".

Before Fred could even shoot his contempt toward Hiram's way, Hiram had lifted his hands up and said, "That was not ordered by me. I swear on my grandfather I had nothing to do with it."

"We're about to find out. I'm heading over there right now," Fred said.


	4. Fumble

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or settings, they belong to Archie Comics and The CW.

"Andrews, you should have pummeled that guy. After all that construction work and lifting you're becoming more of a 'Chad' than before." Reggie Mantle slapped Archie on the behind as they put on their gear before practice. Besides having a serious headache, Archie had made it out of the kerfuffle unharmed. Fred gave an earful to Sheriff Keller, once again, and yet again there was not much he could do.

"Moose is the real beast. With him starting at Left Tackle now, we are going to dominate the ground game." Archie high-fived Moose as the gigantic teenager tightened his shoulder pads alongside the locker adjacent to his.

"Please Andrews, this gun right here is going to carry us," Reggie said while flexing his arm. "Or maybe it will be your girl on the sidelines. She's looking especially extra smoking hot after this summer. Maybe it was something she was drinking there."

"There's something you can drink in France that makes you more attractive?" Moose asked, completely serious.

"Yes Moose, it's called Chardonnay. You should try it sometime," Reggie mocked.

Moose bodychecked Reggie lightly, but hard enough that it sent Reggie backwards. "Y'all are pulling a fast one on me," Moose bellowed. Archie grabbed Moose's right arm before Reggie and Moose continued in some juvenile rough-housing.

It was typical for the locker-room to be filled with sophomoric foul play. On the other side of the lockers, a group of guys were slapping their jockstraps at each other while others were spouting out colorful language. Toward the back of the room was the soccer and cross country teams quietly getting ready for practice. That was all flatlined when Coach Clayton entered the room.

"Are you guys the _Varsity Football_ Team or no? Get your crap together in get out on in the field in five minutes. Any person who is late means an extra lap around the field." The team later made its way out and learned they would be sharing the vicinity with the cheerleading team who were practicing by the bleachers. The girls got a few eye-brow raising glances from the guys before they hustled on to the field.

"Dude, Andrews, tell your girl that her squad needs to practice inside. I'm going to get too distracted by her alone. She's the head cheerleader right? Doesn't she make all the calls now?"

Archie rolled his eyes. "The team has an actual coach now. Not just a sponsor that did nothing and let Cheryl Blossom quote-un-quote 'lead'. She told me her dad donated to the school so they could afford an actual coach and actual program."

"Andrews, you sly dog. You need to mine some of that Lodge gold. Get us some of that dough so we can have our names on the back of our jerseys. I want the scouts to know who I am."

Although no one asked for his opinion, Moose interjected. "Hey, I just thought of something. Maybe we could have the girls practice next to the rival distract. Have them distracted so we can win."

"Isn't your girlfriend on the team Moose?" Reggie asked.

"Honestly I don't know, I haven't talked to her in a while. Oh wait- hi Midge!" he yelled out across the field. Midge looked on confusingly.

The team scurried over in a semi-rectangle as Coach Clayton blew the whistle to signal their attention. "Alright, let's go over the new plays we learned this summer again. I want you to have these in the back of your head like you know the alphabet. First teams, on the field now!"

Archie took his position behind Reggie in the backfield as the running-back. In this particular play, Archie would run underneath as a potential receiver on a screen pass. As it would happen, Reggie was feeling conservative on this play and threw it underneath. Archie bobbled it and fell down on a shameless effort to somehow grab close it to the ground. This mishap drew the ire of his coaches.

"Andrews, hold on to that football. I want less fumbles this year," Coach Clayton yelled. Archie had better luck on the next play; a run inside in which he gained moderate yardage in large part thanks to Moose. When Archie got up, he saw Jughead running around the track with his team.

"Put a shirt-on, it's not like you have too much to show with bodies like that," Reggie heckled toward the runners, accompanied by a bunch of jeers on the field.

"Easy dude, you're going to make us all do laps," Archie retorted.

"Bruh, it's fine. I'm motivating people." Reggie took a few more snaps before the first team went to the bench.

"So Andrews, I'm having a party this weekend. You and your girl are invited. Everyone is invited: Kevin, Moose and Midge, Betty and Jughead..."

"Jughead? He hates parties, he's really going?" Archie squinted his eyes as the sun blared into his eyes.

"I asked Betty at work and she said they would come. Dude, I'm seriously wondering if he still even lives at your house."

"-Hey Reggie, are your balls deflated?" Jughead shouted this very loudly so everyone in the general vicinity could hear. They did, and bursted out laughing. Reggie, on the other hand, was not too happy.

"I'll show you if my balls are deflated." Reggie chucked a football at Jughead as hard as he could, but Jughead was still able cradle the ball against his body and mockingly entered the endzone to spike the ball.

"That's it you little twerp, you're going to get it." Reggie sprinted after Jughead, but a confrontation did not happen thanks to both teams blockading the two so a skrimish wouldn't break out. Betty ran over to Jughead, and pulled him away from any lingering threat.

"That does it, Coach, you need to tell your players to stop interrupting our practices," Coach Clayton barked out. The Riverdale Cross Country coach had been running alongside his team the whole time and had a stone faced expression on his face.

"My guys? Why do your guys feel the need to take up half of the track? You have an empty baseball field over there that isn't being used," Coach Kershner, the cross country coach, replied. Before Coach Clayton could even reply, the Cross Country team had taken off away from the area.

Archie could care less for the theatrics that had just occurred. He just wanted to get home and play guitar and rest for the weekend. It was a cool day all things considering. Most days during the summer had a damp feeling to them. Being a good boyfriend, however, he stopped by the parking lot as the cheerleading team were heading home.

"Looking good out there, head cheerleader," Archie said coyly before giving her a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

Veronica grabbed his bicep. "I think you're the superstar out there with muscles like these." Veronica leaned in to kiss him on the lips. "So are you excited for the party this weekend?" Veronica asked.

Archie was not particularly interested in going to the party but he did not want to be a 'debbie-downer' in front of his girlfriend. "It should be fun. Good to see all of our friends before school starts." Archie noticed Betty walking toward her car, looking a little downtrodden.

"Hey Betty, is everything alright?" Archie asked in-between the rows of cars.

Betty looked over seemingly disinterested before saying, "Yeah, I'm fine." She shut the door and drove off.

"She'll be fine, her man will take care of her. Whatever is going on," Veronica said after a momentary pause between the two.

"Yes, yes he will." Archie brushed Veronica's arm as more cars were filtering out of the narrow junior parking lot. Veronica rested her head on Archie's shoulder.

"Do you want to hang out later tonight?" Veronica innocently asked.

"I'm sorry, I have to help out some stuff with my dad. He's been buried with paperwork so he asked me to do some chores around the house in the meantime.

"I can help if you want- If Jughead doesn't mind. I know he's not the biggest fan of me."

Archie laughed. "I doubt it Veronica. He'll have to put up with you either way." Archie offered to drive her to his home since Smithers was originally going to pick her up. When the two arrived at Archie's house, they found another car parked parallel to the house. When the two went inside, they found Fred, Jughead and an unknown women sitting around a table.

"Dad, what is going on?" Archie asked.


	5. Taking up the Mantle

A/N: Thanks again for all the feedback so far. I haven't really written a character from the female perspective before so let me know if you think I'm way off.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Archie characters. They are property of Archie Comics and The CW.

Betty's fingers tattered on the keyboard as she anxiously finished her assignment for the day. She had helped her mom format an article for the new edition of _The Register_ and safely filed it away. Her experience interning there could be described as... character building? She was often at odds toward the direction her mother had taken in the articles. She especially made a concerted effort to make her include an article about how Dilton Doiley had started a Duck's Unlimited and how it had helped the emotionally distraught Cheryl Blossom overcome a crippling depression. It was the least she could do considering the paper had created a fake news story about her last year. Her mom approved and even gave her credit for the article.

"Honey, you can close up shop now. I don't want you driving to the party too late," Alice called over to Betty as she was shuffling different quarterly reports on the large table inside the office. "Are you sure you even want to go now that Jughead is not coming."

Betty looked like she had been hit with an anvil. "He probably would have pulled out last minute anyway. He's never been a party type." Jughead was not going to be living at Archie's anymore, let alone going to Riverdale High. Fred Andrews had approached child services and assessed that he would not be able to financially support Jughead over the long-term future. That, and combined with his past DUI pushed the civil services to find a better alternative. An alternative that was on the other side of town.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to. I'm sure Veronica will be spending most of her time with Archie. And you've never been friends with that Mantle boy either. It's a damn shame too. His parents seem very nice. His dad actually gave me advice on how to set-up my paper, _The Register._ We're still not as big as _The Riverdale Gazette_ but we've grown quite a bit since then."

"Mom, I'm not going to see Reggie. I'm going to see my friends." Betty blinked.

Alice stood there in silence before finally saying, "You want to see that Andrews boy, don't you?"

"Mom, _we're friends._ I'm not pining after him anymore. I'm over it. I'm happy being his friend. That's all." Betty readied her purse as she finished deflecting her question.

"Betty, you're not fooling me. I remember going near your room and hearing you and Polly always giggling about Archie. You were over the moon when you saw him come back home last summer. For christ sakes Betty, you even asked him if he loved you. I didn't ask your father that till years after dating. You may like Jughead but don't tell me all those feelings have vanished."

"I don't like him. I _love_ him. What is it to you anyway? You don't even like Archie or his dad even though they have done no wrongs toward you." Betty looked like she was about to head out the door till Alice spoke up.

"It's not about them, it's about _you._ I have one son who I haven't seen in over 20 years. I have a daughter who has had a baby. I need you to be okay. I need my Betty," Alice pleaded, with the last part coming off as much more earnest than the rest.

Betty looked over to her in a melancholy way. "You always will mom. And you still have Polly. We're always here for you." Betty hugged her mom before finally departing back home to get dressed for the party.

When Betty got home, she noticed a text from Veronica.

 _Do you want a ride? Smithers can come by and pick you up?_

Betty did her best to respond in a cordial manner, even though she wanted to bluntly answer no. _Is this how it's going to be from now on. The two of them asking me to be a third wheel?_ When Jughead had left to go to his foster home, numerous questions had arisen in her head. What would it be like hanging out with the group now that everybody knew Archie and Veronica were a pair. Would she be seen as a clingy-hanger-on? Kevin was of course there, but Kevin was always there. As good as a friend as he was, Betty's time with him had also been limited because of her extended time with Jughead. But Betty was determined to make it work with Jughead, she owed Jughead...

Betty opted to go for a more casual look by wearing a pink sweater with a skirt. When she left her house, she felt a cool breeze nip at her ankles. Reggie's house was a bit out of the way but she arrived there in good time. After the Blossom's family mansion had gone up in flames, Reggie's house was amongst the biggest in Riverdale. It was not the size of the Blossom's or the size of the under construction Lodge Mansion, but it definitely was something you would expect from an upper-middle class family in a small town.

When Betty entered the door, his mom greeted her at the door way. "Hi sweetie, everybody is downstairs hanging out... supposedly." The Mantle's family dog came up to her and aggressively starting sniffing her foot. "Vader, get off of her," Ms. Mantle commanded. Betty brushed off the dog, making her way down to the basement and was immediately met with a chorus of greetings- some enthusiastic and others more empathetic sounding.

"Hey Betty, I'm sorry to hear about what happened with Jughead. I'm here for you if you need anything." Ethel was the first to approach Betty as she walked down the stairs.

"Thanks Ethel. It' okay though. It's better than him moving to another town entirely." Much to Betty's surprise, Reggie also approached her.

"Hey I'm glad you made it. I hope we are still good after what happened last weekend. I feel bad now in retrospect..."

"It's fine. Boys will be boys." Betty noticed the different groups spread through the basement area. A few people were stationed around a table playing cards, one of whom was Chuck. Betty paid him no mind. Besides them, Cheryl and Dilton Doiley were close-by, talking to each other and were seemingly more close than usual. Betty's attention moved to the corner of the room that had Kevin, Archie, and Veronica seated in chairs, with the latter two's hands intertwined.

Betty wanted to say something to break the silence between the two of them. "So, how has your dad's newspaper company been since the new development. Veronica told me you guys bought a new office on the land development." For whatever reason, she felt a bit jittery.

"Yeah, they should be relocating in a few months. Crazy thing though was that there were protests from another bidder and they even threatened to blockade the area. Mr. Lodge had none of that garbage though. He got them out real fast."

Betty looked shocked. Her thoughts immediately went to Archie and his overall safety.

"So... if you're not here with Jughead, are you scoping out someone else?" Reggie asked.

Bety scoffed. "Oh please Reggie... You wouldn't even want-"

"I meant Andrews. I mean wouldn't a good girlfriend typically forego all social outings and stay with him through thick and thin." Betty could tell Reggie was trying to bait her but was not going to give in- and honestly was not bothered by it either.

"Just because I'm dating someone doesn't mean I can't hang every once in a while. Am I supposed to be a social leper."

"-Were you never going to come and talk to us?" Kevin came over and hugged Betty. "So how is the grieving Ilsa Lund doing?"

"Stop it Kevin." Betty saw from over his shoulder that Archie and Veronica noticed two and waved.

"I hope my girl is doing well. It's crazy that you've been involved in all the madness since I've gotten here" Veronica interjected. She had gotten up from her seat and also greeted Betty.

Betty gave her the usual pleasantries before heading over to Archie. In a somewhat peculiar manner, Betty swung her arms around Archie for a hug. Archie returned the favor after looking surprised for a few seconds.

"I called Jughead today, I think he is doing well. He said his foster parents are feeding him well, so that's a plus," Archie laughed. "He also said that he looks forward to seeing you again."

"I think he'll miss you even more. He was talking about you a lot when I went to visit him at his new family's...

Archie shot a quick glance around the party before cutting her off. "In all honesty, I'm kind of sick of everyone calling us 'brothers.' We're not, it's always just been me, my mom, and my dad. It's like why does my family always have to be the ones that come in on a white horse and saves everyone. We have our own problems too you know..."

Music started blaring before Betty could respond. Several people gathered around the non-carpeted area of the basement and began dancing. "Archie, I understand completely. Like I said earlier, you can talk to me about anything. _Anything."_ She stopped and awkwardly looked deep into his eyes. "Do you want to dance?" she asked.

Archie shot another fleeting glance toward Veronica's direction. She was talking with Kevin and not paying attention to the two of them. "Us, or... yeah, sure."

Betty took Archie by the arm and pulled him in toward the epicenter of the dancing teenagers. Archie nearly tripped over a nearby Moose dancing with Midge and started to move toward the beat. After Betty shimmied with him unison before she put her arms over his shoulders. Betty could feel a buzz go off in her pocket but continued to dance anyway. The two of them were joined by Veronica and Kevin who entered the proverbial enclosure of dancing teenagers. Veronica did a double take before clearing her throat. "You guys are the best BFFs," she blurted out over the music.

That was partially true, Betty thought. Betty danced with Archie for a few more moments before allowing the red-headed teenager to dance with his girlfriend. Betty went outside to catch her breath and pulled out her phone to see a new text.

 _I miss you Betty. And I love you so much._

Betty's heart sank. She felt over the moon that she was that deeply appreciated but why did she feel so conflicted? The party would end a few hours later and the four friends would be among the last to leave.

"I don't know about you, but I felt a little on edge around that dog. Like why was he so aggressive. Is he Reggie's lap dog that intimidates people into being complicit to his perpetual douchiness," Kevin commented as he talked with Betty before being picked up his dad.

"I don't know, but he is kinda cute. The dog I mean." Betty said her goodbyes to Kevin before he entered Sheriff Keller's officer car. Smithers shortly pulled up later and picked up Archie and Veronica.

"See you at school next week," Veronica called out before leaving. Betty was about to leave but was interrupted as Reggie walked out the front door.

"I know how you feel Cooper. I feel the same way right now."

A/N: Is introducing something that has already been in the canon cheating? I know it feels kinda cheap to send Jughead away but I felt it was best for the story. Thanks again for the feedback, and I am sorry for the delay. I've been taking care of a new puppy recently.


	6. Deep Breath

Disclaimer: I do not any of the Archie characters, storylines or settings. They are property of Archie Comics and The CW.

"Hey mom, I hope you're not busy but I just had a few questions to ask."

"Sure honey, what's the matter?"

"When did you know it wasn't going to work out with dad?"

"Wow, wasn't expecting that straight out of the gate. Archie... You know I'm not supposed to tell you stuff like that."

"I don't care about the particular business with you and dad. I mean, I wish you guys were still together, but I just want to know what it feels like to know it's not there..."

"It sounds like you have already answered that question yourself. You're not happy with Veronica?"

"It's Betty. I said I didn't love her- well I did, not just in the way she wanted me to say it in. And now I feel like I've permanently messed up."

"She asked you if you loved her? Wow... Archie, that is so adorable. My little boy has all-grown up."

"Mom, I'm serious, I don't need your teasing right now. I need to know what to do. I really, really like Veronica but I just feel like I've lost Betty when she went with Jughead."

"So Betty is the one you want one. Don't tell me you're in love with both. That's not true. That's never true. It's always just an excuse."

"That's not fair. If Betty ends up with Jughead, am I just going to be in no-man's land for the rest of my life. Veronica was there for me in a crucial time."

"I have a feeling that Betty would give that same exact answer about getting together with Jughead. Do you think it's right for you to just drag along that girl along when you like someone else?"

"Under that logic, I can never have anybody else if Betty is with someone. I love Betty. I don't want to be with anyone else right now and I feel like the biggest idiot for not telling her that when she asked me because I made a stupid mistake. A stupid mistake I might regret for the rest of my life..."

"Oh Archie..."

"Mom- I don't- I don't know what to do." Archie was practically sobbing.

"Arch, you are acting like you are married to this girl. You're not. You don't have any binding contract where you must stay with her. Tell Veronica how you really like Betty and then tell Betty how you really feel."

"I just feel so embarrassed having been through this and having to go through all this again. I might practically destroy my friendship with Jughead and make a complete fool of myself. Why can't it be simple?"

"Well you're a very handsome, very sweet young man. Of course you're going to have to break many hearts. Your dad broke plenty as well. Just remember, it's always your choice. And don't let anyone pressure you into doing something you don't want to. And if you ever feel too overwhelmed by what's going on over there, you're always welcome to come move with me."

"Thanks mom." Archie hung up the phone and walked toward the kitchen. He saw his dad sitting there with a beer and crying.

"Dad, what's the matter?"

"Someone short-circuted the control on the bulldozer and busted up its engine. I've been driving that thing ever since I was 17. I was going to allow you to drive it this year." He took a chug out of his beer before continuing. "I know who did it too. It was the Serpents. I know they attacked you too. Ever since they lost their jobs when Hermione replaced them, they've had it out for me. They had it out for me before that too. They made the most egregious demands for their union fees that I had no choice but to let a bunch of them go."

Archie sat down on the table. "Then I'll go to the _The Register_. We'll write an article about it. We can rally the people, dad. They'll come to your aide. Betty and I-

"Archie, that's not necessary. This isn't your battle to fight. I drew you into this." Fred obviously did not disclose the real reason he did not want his son to work with Alice Cooper so he chose to misdirect him instead.

"Dad, I know you're not on the best of terms with Mrs. Cooper but Betty would be willing to help. She'll listen to Betty. We can make this work." Archie gritted his teeth. The hopelessness he was feeling during the conversation with his mom had waned. Now, he wanted to act. Now, he felt more primitive. Now, he felt like a man.


	7. Imbalanced Chemistry

Veronica's eyes shot open. She turned off the alarm on her phone before making the realization that it was the first day of school. The first day of school usually had the same feeling. The bed would feel extra soft, the shower would feel extra cold and the ride over to school would feel super short. On this particular first day, however, Veronica was feeling peppy. Unlike last year, she had a boyfriend and a best friend in Betty. She felt secure.

"Hey mom, do you know where my skirt is? I ironed it last night and I can't find it." Veronica entered the living room in her pajamas while awaiting her usual breakfast with oatmeal.

"I laid it out on the couch. Are you excited for your first day, today?" Hermione asked earnestly.

"Yeah, it should be a lot better this year. I actually know people, I'm an upperclassmen now, I have a teacher named 'Professor Flutesnoot'. What could wrong". Veronica and Hermione laughed in unison before Hiram walked into the room.

"I'm taking you to school today. We can swing by and pick up Archie too. I'm looking forward to finally meeting him." Veronica looked at him with consternation while Hermione slyly walked out of the way into the kitchen area.

"I thought Smithers was supposed to take me to school today. Aren't you busy today anyway?"

"I'm always busy. But I somehow work extra hard to leave time for special moments like this."

"Well, I'm sure Archie-kins will be flattered his possible future son-in-law has started taking the first steps." Hiram winced at Veronica's delivery of those words. She knew he was probably insincere in his message so why not tease her father a bit.

Veronica got a shower and ate breakfast before departing to go to school with her father. When they pulled up to Andrew's house, Archie pushed back his dog Vegas inside as he exited the door and he looked like a log had been jammed down his throat as he saw Hiram in the car.

"How- how are you- Good morning Mr. Lodge," Archie finally got out before entering the passenger seat next to Veronica. Veronica put her hand on his as he fastened his seat, but he pulled it away, fearing that Hiram could see their hands through the rear-view mirror.

"Good morning Mr. Andrews. It's good to finally meet you. Veronica talked about you non-stop over the summer. It's too bad you and your dad were so elusive. I would have loved to met you earlier."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two in the backseat. Veronica knew Archie and Fred were not at fault for not visiting him but she did not dare call him out on that. "Daddy, did you hear that someone damaged Mr. Andrews's bulldozer. Do you think you could loan him money to repair it or a buy a new one?" Archie looked at her nervously.

"No, I did not. That's a shame. Let me know if he needs anything Archie. Your father has been working hard all summer. I want to see all my employees to be treated like family."

The three of them remained silent for a while before Hiram broke the silence. "So Archie, you're the running back on the football team. I hear good things about the team this year."

"Yeah we should hopefully make the playoffs this year. A lot of the same guys are back so we are a more experienced team." Veronica saw Archie fidgeting. She really hoped that her father would not ask a certain follow-up question.

"None of the guys that happened to make that little 'playbook' happen to be on the team this year, are they? I wouldn't want to worry about rooting for some juvenile delinquents while watching my daughter cheer." _Dammit, that was it. Why did he have to ask it in front of me_.

"In all honesty, sir, I never saw the notebook so I wouldn't know. Either way, I value women and I will always do my best to treat your daughter with respect."

"Good man. That's the answer I like to hear," Hiram replied. Veronica's stomach felt like it was kneaded. She looked out of the car as they pulled up, seeing a well decorated blue and gold sign decorated on top of the school's entrance way. The usual scenes you would expect were happening. Friends were hugging, upperclassmen were talking in semi-circles and the freshmen were carrying around maps and over-sized backpacks.

"Have a good day you two. Actually, Archie can I have a word with you for a minute. Just want a quick word. Sweetie, have a great first day." Hiram gave a kiss on the cheek to Veronica before he conversed outside with Archie. Veronica walked toward the entrance and quickly spotted Betty's ponytail.

"Glad to be going through my first day of school knowing I have my girl by my side." Veronica said as she hugged Betty while keeping one eye on her dad and Archie.

"Hey- V, I know this is out of the blue, but I hope you didn't feel too awkward last weekend when I was hanging around Archie a lot."

"Don't worry about it. I know you've been going through a rough time now that your boo is _temporarily_ separated from you at the moment. I could survive a few moments without Riverdale's golden boy all to myself." Archie walked over to to them as the two girls were chatting.

"You made it out alive. What were you guys talking about?" Veronica asked.

"We were having a 'guy's' moment," Archie said sarcastically. "But no, seriously, it was the usual spiel you would expect." Veronica looked at him in a suspicious yet non aggressive way. _He is totally deflecting, she thought._ The three of them entered the school gym where various teachers and staff tried to quell the small talk between the students and assertively told them to take their seats. Veronica noticed a Josie and the Pussycats drum logo on the center logo. She had sometimes missed being part of the band but had honestly never felt like a 'true' member to begin with.

After the three took a seat in the mid-section of the bleachers, Principal Weatherbee began his address to the students. "Good morning Riverdale High," Weatherbee said in an enthusiastic manner imitating _Good Morning Vietnam._ "I have a feeling we're in for a great year this year. Now I'm not going to give the usual 'look to your left and look to your right' speech, but I will say that this town has been under rough times lately. I just want everyone to hold themselves accountable. Be accountable of yourself academically, be accountable of yourself physically, and most importantly, be accountable of yourself emotionally. If you see someone down on themselves, help them up. BE a source of energy, rather than having to always take from another one. When I served in the military, my mother always told me that a smile could be enough to brighten someone's day. My mom of course didn't understand how the military worked, but it was the her thought that counted. No mater the obstructions that plague us, Riverdale will be held together by the strong bonds of our people and... thank you all." Weatherbee was about to praise God but censored himself when he remembered he had to remain secular. The rest of the speech talked about the rules and faculty and he then gave the stage to Josie and the Pussycats.

After a brief song, the students disassembled and went to their classes. As it would happen, Archie, Veronica and Betty all had first period Chemistry together. The three grabbed a table together and waited for the new teacher to give his opening remarks. He looked fidgety as he sat on his computer before finally speaking to the class.

"Good morning everyone, my name is Professor Flutesnoot," said there grey haired, slender teacher. A gaggle of guffaws came after he said that. "Oh come on, it's not like you haven't joked about my name before with your other classmates who have taken me before."

"Sir, I have a question? If you are a Professor, why do you teach high school kids," Reggie called out in a smarmy manner.

"As it happens young man, I have taught college kids before but I just preferred high school. I found the professors too obsessed with their work and seemed to give not enough care for the students. Myself personally, I like indulging in teaching kids in a more formative period of their lives, even if I am occasionally subject to endless petty non-sense and sophomoric attitudes- from teenagers."

After going over the school rules, the professor gave them an assignment them an assignment to determine a type of metal based on the color of flame. The trio took a position in the corner while Reggie, Moose, and Midge worked at a station close to the teacher's desk. Veronica turned on the bunsen burner as Archie stuck the metal prongs with the wire through the took notice of how Betty looked on concernedly as Archie put the wire through the flame.

"Mr. Mason, do not use another sample without washing it first," Professor Flutesnoot called out from a distance.

"Professor Flutesnoot, can you teach us to make a stink bomb? I want to wreak havoc when I go paint-balling next week. Something with more propulsion than my dog's turds lit on fire," Reggie called out. Veronica could not help but giggle after that remark.

"By the end of this year, I hope you will have more noble aspirations than that, Mr. Mantle." The group continued to test more metals until Reggie walked over and asked for answers. "Hey lover boy, what did you guys get for the light green flame?" Veronica noticed Reggie adroitly pull back his hand as he positioned the rest of his body to lean on the desk.

"I think it's calcium, but I could be wrong," Archie answered. Archie put in another metal and when he put it back in the water, he realized steam was coming from the beaker.

"My god, everyone get out of the classroom!" Professor Flutensoot bellowed with terror. A steaming explosion reacted, causing the entire class to ran outside. As the class sprinklers went off, Professor Flutesnoot did his best effort to stop the students from peaking inside before finally ordering them to go to the cafeteria.

Veronica glared at Reggie. "That was totally you, wasn't it?" Reggie put his index finger next to his mouth and grinned very widely.

"You're bad. Something bad could have happened!"

"Believe me Ronnie, I've experimented with it before. I knew it would be just a tiny, harmless reaction. Well big enough to cause a mass exodus though," he whispered.

"Mr. Mantle, what would your parents think of this degeneracy."

"My parents, huh? Say, are we going to have another night out like last year? Or did your card get cancelled again?"

"Ok, ok, but maybe a heads up next time. You could actually be cute if you dropped the ego every now and then."

"Just cute, huh? Well don't tell Andrews you said that. With Betty close by, it could yield a small chemical reaction... in the form of a disastrous break up."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "You would go there Reggie. You've gone there, twice today."

"I'm just doing you a favor." Reggie walked away before Veronica noticed Archie walking alongside Betty.

A/N: Thank you for all the support so far. Your support has been immeasurable to me.


	8. Stories by the Campfire

Disclaimer: I do not own the Archie characters, settings and all other things associated with Archie Comics and The CW's Riverdale.

Archie helped Betty put the protective elastic webbing attached to her waist around her kayak. It was the first weekend of the school year and the four of them had decided to take a trip by the river for some leisurely kayaking. A year had past since the fatal incident had occurred so no one really felt any lingering eeriness about the locale. After all, everyone with the exception of Veronica had childhood memories of having fourth of July picnics and even occasional miniature sailboat competitions by the shallower shore. Archie and Jughead had won a competition doing so as cub scouts.

"It's almost 3 o'clock, I think we have hit a reasonable hour for some quality tanning. Best to get some in before the gloomy Riverdale microclimate comes in and makes everything feel like a noir film," Veronica said as she pushed off into the lake with her kayak.

"I like it better that way. It creates more of an ambiance. Perfect for late night drive-in movies and a night out of town with your girlfriend", Jughead replied while he adjusted his double-sided paddle and tried not to go in circles.

"I'm sorry about that Jug. No hard feelings, seriously." As his three friends chattered, Archie finally made his way into the water, pushing on the dirt to propel him forward in the water. He was simply adorning a tank top as opposed to a full protective suit worn by everyone else, even though he was susceptible to getting burned. It made it easier to move, he thought. And to be slightly vain...

"Archie, how do you move forward. I keep going in circles," Betty called out, not far from the bank.

"Just rotate both strokes at a smooth and consistent pace. I think you are overcompensating at one side." Archie paddled over near her and had his kayak gently collide with hers. He paddled around her and simulated a few strokes in a slower motion while pushing her away from the current when she veered off to far.

"I'm clearly not too good at this Archie. Did you really do this every summer when you were a kid?"

"Oh yeah, lot's of memories of my dad flipping me over and teaching me how to roll. It always scared the crap out of me, but my dad told me it was good to get comfortably uncomfortable. In a teasing way, not in the life lesson kind of thing." Archie and Betty paddled over toward Veronica and Jughead. The current was going out strong and the two needed to catch the eddy or else it would be a long stretch ahead. Jughead and Veronica were already stationed there and waiting for them.

"Paddle faster Archie, I think I heard a banjo," Jughead teased.

"This is aint the Appalachians baby. Come on Betty, let's go." Archie smoothly paddled over to the eddy. Betty, however, frantically paddled in an attempt to get over, sacrificing her good form and direction. Her kayak spun around and she was headed further down the stream without knowing what was directly in front of her.

"Guys, stay here! I'll port her to to the side," Archie commanded. Archie pulled on the grease hand of his paddle while pushing on his control hand to turn around and head toward Betty. Betty was heading down a relatively tame class 1 rapid, but Archie knew how intimidating that could be for the first time. A series of jagged rocks were incoming and Archie needed to get out of the way if he wanted to catch up to her. He tipped over his kayak to the opposite direction and submerged himself underwater. _Relax, that's what dad always told you to do in this situation._ Being upside-down underwater- in a current, no less- was a scary situation. Archie did his best to find a 'happy place' and swung his body up and used his arm to push his kayak upwards. His kayak pulled up successfully.

Betty was slowing down, using her paddle to turn herself around and create enough inertia to slow herself down. As she was starting to head down further, Archie came in and collided with her. "If we stay on this course, there's a nearby eddy," he said. They did, and Veronica and Jughead caught up shortly thereafter.

"I thought I lost you there for a second. I'm glad you're all right," Jughead said.

Betty looked on somewhat annoyed. "Oh come on, I was fine. No need to act all dramatic all the time." Jughead shot back a surprised look yet did not respond.

"Teen outlander strikes again," Veronica laughed. "I've been kayaking for a long time but I've never been able to roll like that. That was pretty amazing."

"I have never been able to do it while going down in a current. I've just done it in a lake. I guess it was just the adrenaline rush of it all. Felt real good coming up," Archie said, pulling out of the eddy to continue on. "We just have to go down a little further to reach the camp site. Maybe a mile or so more." The four of them were planning on camping out at the night and had set-up supplies near a camping ground that would serve as the finishing point of their kayak trip.

"Thank you so much for setting this up Archiekins. I haven't gone kayaking in a while. This kinda makes me miss home but I'm happy you're here." Veronica and Archie were up ahead while Betty and Jughead hung back up a bit behind them. The afternoon light was coming in and creating a strong glare. The tree's drooping foliage had somewhat of a soothing effect as they were coming down to the smoother stretches. That was until Archie felt a splash to his face.

"So when am I going to finally read that poem of yours? You can't tease a girl with affection like that and not deliver." Archie's mind went into lockdown mode. His first instinct was to splash her back.

"Hey, why are you deflecting? We should be having a romantic moment right now on this beautiful river," Veronica said giggling. She splashed him and they continued to do so until they finally paddled to the exit spot near the camp. Both were soaking wet, which led to Veronica to pull off her suit and strip down to her sports bra to dry off.

"It's going to be so nice when we get that fire started. Maybe we can have smores, play games by the fire, sing..."

"We should get some firewood before they show up." Veronica followed him and picked up logs beside him as Jughead and Betty were coming into short.

"Hey Archie, I know you promised my parents that the guys and girls would be staying in the same tents, but I was thinking... and I don't think Betty and Jughead would mind at all..."

"I don't think that's the best idea, Ronnie. Your dad really laid it on me thick and I don't want to get in trouble with him, considering the last couple of conversations we've had together."

"Do you not trust me enough, Archie? I wouldn't slip up at all if they asked me. You won't have to worry about it." Archie felt dumbfounded again. He had no idea how to react in this situation.

"- Hey are we going to cookout soon? I've been dying for some cooked hotdogs for a while."

Jughead and Betty entered the camp area and sat down their supplies on the adjacent bench near the fire pit .

"We just got some firewood. Jughead do you think you can start a fire alright?" Archie asked.

Jughead's face lit up like a Christmas Tree. "You know me Arch. You know how good I am with matches."

"You were so good that you accidentally lit one of Jellybean's dolls on fire. My mom freaked out on you and you were grounded for a month," Archie laughed. Archie noticed that reminiscing like this rarely occurred. Maybe it was because memories like that felt like ages ago given how much had radically changed since then. Only Fred, Jughead, and Archie were living _freely_ in Riverdale now.

"Do you guys want to throw around the frisbee?" Betty asked, holding up a frisbee in an innocently matter-of-fact way.

"Why not, what's a leisurely day without even more strenuous exercise?" Archie piped in. Betty threw it over to him and began a casual game of frisbee. it lasted about a half hour before it began to get dark. Archie and Jughead began setting up the barbecue while Betty and Veronica set up the tents.

"Hey Arch, I just wanted to apologize to you for how I acted when Betty was visiting that one day. I shouldn't have acted that way to you. It's just been hard with my dad in jail, and having to move around all the time..."

"It's no big deal, I know how you feel. It was hard on me for a while when my mom left. I got angry a lot and I let people take advantage of me."

"Oh I bet." Jughead responded, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

"So, I heard you have a dog named Hotdog. Where did you get him."

Jughead looked caught off guard before answering. "Oh, he was a rescue dog. My foster family picked him up as sort of 'welcome present' if you will. He's a real handful but he's fun." The two lit the charcoal on fire before placing actual hotdogs on the grill.

"-Archie, can I talk to you real quickly?" Betty asked, walking up on them.

Archie nodded and walked away into the woods with Betty. "I finished the article about your dad. I think it's a pretty good piece that paints a typical day of his life and how hard he works for his family. My mom is still being a pain in the ass about not letting me publish the article though. Worst case scenario, I can maybe pitch it to Reggie's dad's Newspaper. But yeah, it was the least I could do to help."

"That's great Betty. I knew if anyone could write a convincing story, it would be you. I have to ask though, why are you telling me this in private."

Betty's face turned cold and she readjusted her ponytail, cautiously looking back. "It's Jughead," she whispered. "His dad has ties with the Serpents and I think he might be part of them."

Archie's face turned as red as his hair. "If you know that, why are you still hanging around him? Or why haven't you at least confronted him about it? If he's with them, he's putting you in danger by proxy." Archie said all of this as loud as he could without him actually hearing it.

"I don't know, Arch. I don't know how to approach this situation. I still care about him a lot but I'm worried. What should I do?"

"Talk to him about it. If you don't, I will." Archie was heading back to the camp area, before Betty interrupted him.

"Archie, please don't make a scene. Not tonight at least."

"I can't stay by and not let anything happen. I care too much about you. You're my best friend."

"Archie, Veronica is your best friend now. I'm flattered, but your partner should always be your best friend. That's how I feel with Jughead." Archie's face could be described as chagrined. That was the last thing he wanted to hear right now.

"Yeah, because best friends always keep secrets. My best friend is not my girlfriend." Archie headed back to the camp and Betty frantically followed.

"There you guys are. I was getting anxious. I think we should eat dinner and then play a game around the fire," Veronica said. Betty and Archie agreed, not letting on the complete different feelings they were having at the moment. It was so palpable in their minds that it felt like an earthquake had split the camp into two.

"These are delicious," Jughead chimed in, chowing on a hotdog. Archie tried not to look at him as it would give it away too much. He wanted to not say anything for Betty's sake but it was becoming increasingly hard every moment. What Veronica proposed next made it even worse.

"You know, I think that's it's so great that we can do this as friends and we're all together, as two very loving relationships. I say we play a little game of truth or dare. Such an intimate setting on a night like tonight, I think it would be a great way to know each better."

"Sounds like a great idea," Betty said smiling with a such a small hint of sarcasm that only Archie could pick up on it.

"Wonderful. Betty would you like to go first?" Betty nodded and faced Jughead's direction around the log.

"Jughead, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Did you have a crush on me when we were growing up as kids?"

Jughead startled his throat. "To be honest, I didn't really like girls till much later on then most boys. But you were the first one I had a crush on, yes." A smile lit up on Betty's face. Archie's remained the same.

Veronica was next. "Archie, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Did you really write me a poem."

"Yes," he said rather plainly. "Your turn Jughead." Veronica looked on befuddled, as if she was expecting something more.

"You know, I think we can drop the whole facade of the 'truth or dare' dynamic. You know everyone here is just going to say truth. So, Archie... do you still have feelings for Betty?"

"Oh come on Jug..." Betty interceded before Archie answered.

"No, it's fine, I'll answer. I've grown up with Betty my whole life. I am emotionally attached to her, so yes, those are 'feelings' if you will.' My turn. Jughead, was Hotdog a rescue dog brought to you by your foster family or was he rescued by the Serpents?"

"What the hell Archie! What are you on about? You think I'm with the Serpents now!" Jughead shouted, fuming with anger.

"I don't know, maybe Betty telling me that she saw you had a serpent jacket hanging in your closet wasn't a big enough smoking gun already. So, are you with the serpents or not?"

"You and your never-ending condescension toward me. How does me being associated with them automatically make me Beezlebub? Can you even find any shred of criminal records on them recently. Or is it just your petty classist attitude planting that image in your head?"

"They trashed my dad's bulldozer. I know it was them! They held resentment toward him even though he wasn't the one who let them go. It was Mrs. Lod-" Archie stopped, realizing that Veronica was sitting there with a stone cold look.

"That poem you wrote, that wasn't for me. Wasn't it." She said blankly. On the other side of the campfire, Betty was siting there in tears. "I think I'm going to call it quits on this camping trip," Veronica added. "Now that I know where I stand." She got up and began walking away.

"Count me in too. I'm coming with you," Jughead proclaimed.

Betty wallowed up even more. "Juggy, please don't go."

"Come with me, if you want. If you really care." Jughead's hands were trembling by his sides.

"I can't just leave Archie here alone."

"Of course you can't. And that's how it's always been." Jughead walked out with Veronica, leaving Archie and Betty alone at the campsite.

Betty continued pouring out tears for a few minutes before Archie attempted to console her.

"You had to make a scene tonight. It had to be right now. Now I've probably lost both Jughead and Veronica. Your whole ego couldn't let it down for one night."

"I didn't want to start it. He was the one who point blank asked me about my feelings for you and forced me to side-step it into a half truth."

"Half-truth?" Betty looked up.

This was a moment Archie had been imagining in his head for quite some time: coming clean about how he really felt about her the night she asked him.

"I was forced to give such a lame answer, and I just couldn't take it. I wanted to tell you for so long how I felt, the night you asked me if I loved you. It's driven me crazy ever since and I feel so stupid for allowing myself to be taken advantage of and not give you the real reason. So yes, I love you Betty. I've only ever loved you."

Betty was completely thrown off. "Archie, I don't know what to..." She paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. "You know... I think it was unfair of me to ask you that. I put you in an awkward position, so for that... I'm sorry... And I just don't know how to feel right now, and I wish I could tell you a more concrete..." She paused once again. "You know, I'm feeling a little cold right now, do you want to talk about this more over at Pop's."

"That sounds amazing right now," Archie answered. The embers in the fire began to flicker out.


	9. Like Father, Like Son

Fred felt haggardly when he walked into the bar. He was finished with yet another 10 hour day on a Saturday. It seemed like the eighth consecutive time- he had lost track after the fifth six day work week. It had been a while since Fred had been entered a bar ever since he got clean after his DUI. With the house being empty for the night, he thought it would be pretty innocuous to indulge for a few hours.

"Hey, Fred! Pop a squat over here brother." Hal Cooper saw him entering the bar and waved him over. "I heard Betty was going on a camping trip with her friends. Alice was out doing more shopping for the baby so I'm having a _man's_ night out. It's been real busy ever since Polly had the baby so I get very little sleep. Gotta hold it down as the only guy in the house, you know what I'm saying?"

Fred wasn't too amused with Hal's comments. He would love to have a loving wife to come home to at night to talk to and confide in and cuddle on the couch with. Nevertheless, there was no point in comparing yourself to someone else. "How's the Register doing?" Fred asked.

"It's going good. Much quieter year compared to last year- in a good way, but the Lodge developments have given us plenty to write about it. Alice is doing most of the work now, actually. I opened up a an auto-repair store that I work at by appointment part-time. Gotta supplement the income somehow now that we have a baby-on-board."

"Auto-repair again, wow. I knew you were great with cars but I had no idea this was something you were real serious about it. That's awesome, I'll have to come by sometime. And that's right, you're technically a grandpa now. And a damn handsome one at that too." Hal chuckled while the bartender came over his way and Fred opted to go for a light beer. A couple TVs were posted atop the wall. One was playing the news and the other was playing a boxing match.

"I'm pretty lucky to be married to the best looking grandma in that regard as well." Fred did not care to entertain Hal's compliment to his wife. His attention instead stayed on the boxing match. The one fighter on the tv wearing red shirts was continuously pinning down the taller one wearing blue toward one of the posts.

"I used to watch Friday Night Fights all the time with my dad. It was the sport that I was most drawn to. Always was preached about 'team values', but there is just something about two guys just going at it in a small setting. Loved to see a guy just pulverize another guy in a straight up knockout."

Hal sat there silently for a second. The bar was not too sketchy- it had a grungy, yet well mannered appearance that was decked out with sports apparel and framed community pictures on the walls. _Was he freaked out by comment or is he just not interested, Fred thought._ "Yeah, it seems like boxing doesn't get the attention it used to. It might be a generational thing, you know. Kids spending too much on the internet and other things. We probably had it way harder, I think I can say that objectively," Hal finally chimed in.

"Right...," Fred responded with higher energy. "Like I think in 2008, the USA did not even get one medal in boxing. Not one. I mean, do you think men are becoming more and more emasculated every day?" Fred's voice got louder as he went on, attracting looks from nearby patrons.

"Dang Fred, I didn't expect you to get all- sociological, I guess you could say? Wow, I mean you're probably right, I just never..."

"You're not allowed to say it cause you're the only man in the house. Am I right?" Hal shot him back a confused look with his eyebrows shooting up. Fred finished up his drink.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Is everything okay Fred? You seem kind of high strung right now."

Fred sat there quietly. "You don't need to hear it Hal. No need for me to get all personal with you." More patrons came in and the noise began to get louder. Fred shuddered as he was beginning to get a migraine.

"Hey man, if you need to confide in me about something, it's fine. I won't tell anyone if you're worried about Alice finding out about something." _Too late for that._ The bartender came back and asked Fred for another drink, but Hal signaled him away. Fred stared back.

"It's fine, I can take another one," he said in an aggressive tone.

"No, I think you're good buddy," Hal interrupted. Fred felt like protesting but then restrained himself. No need to be adversarial on a night off. He instead took out a large silver coin.

"Take a look at this. This is a rare imprint of the Dwight D. Eisenhower silver dollar coin. My father loved the guy. He gave him a lot of work when he initiated the Interstate Highway Program in the fifties. He gave it to me when I took over the company." He put the coin on the table and flicked it with his fingers.

"He sounds a lot like my father, a self-made man. Do you plan on giving Archie that coin?" Hal asked.

"Probably, but he's not going to be taking over the company. He doesn't even want to stay in Riverdale. It's not that I'm mad about it, it's just that I'm scared about being lonely when he's gone."

Hal nodded. "Well Riverdale is one big family when you think about it. You'll always have us next door and your parish or..."

"It's not the same Hal. Family aint the same thing as community. As much as they try to give that syrupy message every time, especially here," he stopped to laugh, realizing the irony of his statement. "We all saw where that syrup really was going."

Hal cracked up a bit, looking a bit more comfortable. "You couldn't write a more stereotypical ending to that story. I feel bad for Penelope though and her daughter. Luckily, Hiram bought out the company so they're taken care of."

Fred scoffed and Hal immediately knew that he said the wrong thing. "Oh, sorry. I'm not going to pry in your personal life but..."

"The guy puts bogus red tape on my company. Environmental regulations that aren't even required for the state but I have to follow because he wants the company to be 'more green'- all for the sake of rebranding his image. I never polluted or anything before but some of them are just back breaking. I even have to use a certain kind of lightbulb that costs more."

"Dang, that does sound ludicrous. Hold on one second, Betty's calling me." Hal pulled out his phone and answered the phone. Fred could immediately tell something was up.

"Apparently Betty and Archie need to be picked up. Veronica and Jughead left, and they're still there-for whatever reason," Hal said in a tenuous voice.

Fred let out a laugh. "Sometimes I'm envious of the experience Archie has had with... Oh, sorry Hal."

"Yeah, let's hope it's not that great. For my sake," he said very seriously. "I am going to go pick them up." Hal got up to pay his tab before Fred stopped to join him.

"I'm coming too. I'll follow you out to pick up Archie." Hal looked back at him negatively.

"That's okay, I think you should rest up for a bit. You can come along in my car and we can swing back here if you want." Fred agreed and they headed toward the campsite. It was a fairly bumpy road getting there so Fred understood why he opted to drive.

"Hey kids, ready to leave?" Hal said as he finally drove up to the campsite. The two of them got out to put away their supplies in the car. No one exchanged any words during that time. Archie and Betty got in the back seat and remained silent.

"So all in all, not one of the better camping trips?" Fred said after Hal began to drive out. He let out a slight guffaw but stopped when he realized no one else was laughing. "That bad, huh?"

"Hey dad, can you drop us off at Pop's," Betty said quickly.

"At this late at night? I don't think so."

"We can take a taxi back, it's fine. We really need to talk."

Hal sighed. "Be back before 11. Archie will make sure you make it home okay. Isn't that right, Archie?"

"Yes sir," he said nervously.

"I can pick them up," Fred added. "No need to splurge more on our apparently ever-abudant bank accounts."

Hal cleared his throat. "You guys are lucky to have such wonderful parents. I hope you're appreciative of that." Archie and Betty nodded and let out a forced thank you. Hal eventually made it to to Pop's, dropping the two off before driving back over to the bar. He dropped off Fred by his truck. Before he got out, he gave him one last word.

"Hey Fred, you take care of yourself alright. Don't be a stranger, seriously." Fred nodded and headed back home.

It was the end of a very long day for him. He could hear Vegas howling from the house and checked for mail. He opened up the box and found... a snake! _Dammit, not again. Get it out now. Run, get the..._

Fred heard a loaded gun from behind. "Get back in," a scraggily voice said. "We have business to do."

A/N: I'm sure everyone was thrilled to see a Fred Andrews centric chapter considering the events of the last chapter but... I have a story to tell. And Fred is one of my favs. Thank you all for the support once again and feel free to leave any feedback or questions you may have. TTFN


	10. Puppy Love

"So, back to basics, I guess."

"You're anything but basic."

"Smooth, Archie."

Pops Tate approached the two of them. If looks could kill, his would have been the plague.

"Mr. Andrews, Ms. Cooper, the usual for you two?"

Archie and Betty nodded in unison. "Yeah, the usual. Chocolate shake with a medium sized burger and fries."

"Do you want one shake with two straws together." Betty and Archie stared back plainly. "Just asking," he said flippantly. Archie could hear him mutter under his breath about how they could not take a joke.

The next couple of seconds were filled with empty silence. Archie nervously jittered his fingers on the counter before Betty finally spoke.

"So I guess we've already reached our mid-life crisis together... _am I right_?" Betty said jokingly. Archie felt slightly relieved she did not ask something more probing.

"Did you ever think it would be like this. Back in elementary school I mean. I thought it just would be really boring to be honest. Just us eating lunch together, while I played football and you cheered."

"It could have been that boring, Archibald. I suggested that last year but you balked at that idea." Betty perked up.

Archie sighed. "Tell me Betty, when you were with Jughead, were you imagining the idealistic small house, white picket fence type family when you were with him?"

"Apparently not as big of a house you were imagining when you were with Veronica," Betty answered smugly.

"I walked right into that one." Archie looked around the Pop's and saw only a few other people around the restaurant, giving the conversation an ever more intimate feel. That, and there was full moon on a foggy night.

"I'd like not to talk about our now _exes._ I'd rather just talk about you and me and what our plan is going forward," Betty told him.

"Ok well what do you think we should- I mean what do want to- I mean..."

"Archie, it's okay. I'm not putting you on the spot like I've done in the past. Just try to act naturally, like we always have before." Betty had a wide smile on her face that began to relieve Archie a bit.

"Well I kinda put you on the spot, when I asked you to marry me when we were in the first grade."

Betty laughed. "Oh yeah, I can't believe you still remember that? I think I remember postponing the offer till a later date. Circa 2019."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just one of those little ironic things that-"

"So the offer is off then?" She interrupted. It felt like her eyes were invading his soul. Archie sat there in silence.

"I'm just kidding, Archie- well, sort of." They sat there quiet for a few minutes before Pop's brought them there food. Archie made a conscious effort to always chew with his mouth closed and to act in an overall manner of a gentlemen.

"Tell me, when you eventually start your music career and go to say...New York City, are you going to scope out a usual spot to eat or are you going to hop from one restaurant to the next?" Betty asked.

"I don't know. It's hard to imagine that far ahead. It's funny when you think in relative terms. When I was a little kid, I thought I would be a kid forever. I never thought of being a teenager, let alone being an adult."

"Oh, I did all the time. I always had different jobs that I acted out. Doctor, Chef, News-reporter. Do you remember when we used to do current events for class in fourth grade and we would practice at my house with the video camera? Polly would be the weather girl and you were the sports anchor sometimes. My mom said we were the "pinnacle" of local journalism. Kinda ironic considering what she thinks of my reporting now." Betty took a sip out of her shake and continued to lock eyes with Archie.

Archie laughed."Those were the days, eh. Do you see yourself as a newswoman? Or at least some kind of journalist?"

"I see myself being a mother first. Being able to settle down and watch my kids grow up. That's what I want to see happen."

"That's not the answer I was expecting from you. Not that there was anything wrong with you, said."

"No, there isn't." Betty's smile was emanating even brighter than before. That went away when Kevin approached the table.

"Archie, I don't know how to tell you this, but you need to come with me. My dad texted me and told me you need to come to the station for your own protection. Your dad... He's been abducted, and the Serpents are making demands."

Archie's world seemed to come inside out and fold back over. He wanted to compose himself but his body was physically shaking. Betty put her arm around him to control his nerves. "What do they want?" Archie asked.

Kevin gulped. "They want Jughead's dad to be released in exchange for the safety of your dad."

"Jughead," Archie bellowed and somehow resisted the extreme urge to slam his fist into the table- probably because he thought he might need it later.

"Archie, you don't know if he's involved. There is no proof of that," Betty said very worriedly.

"Then we're going to find out, one way or another. I'm heading to his foster's parents house and he's going to tell me where they are." Archie dropped a 20 dollar bill on the table and stormed out of the restaurant.


	11. Detour

Veronica sat silent in the car with Jughead. Smithers had picked them up and the two did not break the silence since then. Smithers did not even dare to ask what had occurred.

"I knew this was going to happen," Jughead finally said, fidgeting his hands. Veronica just stared back at him. She had never really considered him one of her close friends and the two rarely interacted with each other one-on-one but she felt some sort of kinship with him in this moment.

"She did you dirty, Jughead. They did us both, dirty." She sat silently with her arms folded before remembering that she needed to make sure Jughead got home safe. "Smithers, do you know how to get to Jughead's house? It's just south a little south of the exit ramp coming up."

"Will do Ms. Lodge," Smithers responded. He eventually moved on the highway with little changing among the two sullen teenagers in the back.

"I knew it was coming too, Juggy. When I asked Archie why he was staring at you and Betty, he told me he wanted _us_ to be like that. Turns out he was full of shit."

Smithers looked back, startled. "Ms. Lodge, I do not believe your mother would be pleased to hear the indecorousness coming from your mouth.."

"Sorry, Smithers." His car eventually reached Jughead's house and Jughead hastily unfastened his seatbelt to get out. The neighborhood he lived in was fairly nice, but looked like it had not been really developed for a few decades. In terms of the socio-economic map in Riverdale, it was in a decent strip in an otherwise impoverished area of the Southside of Riverdale.

"Bye, Jughead. Let me know if you want to talk or anything. Maybe I can come and visit you, or you can come and visit me." She hugged him as he got out and entered his foster family's house.

"Ms. Lodge, I'm not going to pry in your personal life, but it behooves me to suggest in this situation that maybe you could treat yourself for the rest of the weekend. Just take some time and relax. Maybe one day I will too when I retire at the tender age of 88." Smithers expected laughter from Veronica but she was instead texting an unknown person.

When Veronica finally got back home, Hermione instantly came over to embrace her. "I'm so sorry honey. I remember how hard it was for me when I had my first break-up like that. My mom took me out for ice cream every day that week. We can that for two weeks if you want."

"Thanks mom." Veronica was not upset as Hermione believed she was but she was still shaken up about what happened; especially since her father had just entered the room and she feared his reproach.

"Dad, please just let me-" Hiram hugged her before she could finish.

"I'm not going to say anything about it, sweetie. As much as I want to verbally castigate that Andrew's boy, I won't for your sake."

Veronica lightly chuckled and asked if she could be excused to go to her room. She did not want to be cooped up in her estate on a Saturday night so she quickly changed and thought of an excuse to get out. _I need to treat myself to some coffee. That's a good one._

"Hey mom, I'm going to drive to the coffee shop and take some time alone for a while," Veronica asked as she walked out of her room with a fresh outfit.

"Sure honey. I'm sure Smithers wouldn't mind to take you again."

"Oh no, he had to go out of his way to pick me up today. I'm sure he's really tired. I can drive myself and I won't be there for long."

Hermione had a concerned look on her face but ultimately conceded. "Ok honey. Call me if you get too tired to drive back." _That was too easy, Veronica thought._ Veronica left the estate and got into her silver Volvo.

It took about ten minutes before she reached her destination and knocked on the door. "I was wondering when you would arrive," Reggie said as he walked out of his house. "Am I Nostradomus or what?"

"I hate you so much right now. Why does the jerk always have the right answers?"

"Hey now, that's not a good start to our new.."

"Let's not worry about what to call it right now. Now, I've been meaning to get to know you better. Shall we go somewhere more private?" Veronica let on in a decadent manner.

"I have been waiting to hear those words ever since I met you." The two sneakily went upstairs to Reggie's bedroom. Veronica could tell he was a bit infatuated with himself based on how he decorated his room. Trophies adorned his bookshelf and he had a giant sized poster of himself playing quarterback while other posters were pictures of his car.

'I just realized that we are basically the king and queen of Riverdale High," Reggie blurted out. "I mean- I'm Quarterback, you're the head cheerleader. This is the American Dream right here."

Veronica brandished his bicep and felt his chest. "You're the king, huh? I kind of prefer running backs. They're a bit bulkier." Veronica then proceeded to pull off her shirt as she pushed him toward the bed.

Reggie looked on in what could be described as euphoria. "Babe, wow, I just can't even..."

Veronica put a lip to his mouth. "Let's not talk," she commanded. Veronica locked lips with Reggie, putting her arms around him. She proceeded to shimmy out of her skirt, leaving her only in her underwear.

Reggie continued in the extra curricular activity they were having before he unceremoniously blurted out: "Wait, wait, wait... This would be so much better if we went in my car."

 _Seriously!?_ Veronica had never heard something that awkwardly buzzkilling in a situation like this. _Well, I guess this is the rebound effect._ "Well, you sure know how to treat a girl," Veronica said plainly. She got dressed and walked downstairs toward the driveway. The two's excavation was halted when Reggie heard his mother coming toward the stairs from the kitchen.

"Hide," Reggie whispered. Veronica stealthily moved over to the side of the stairs near the living room that was out of sight to Reggie's mom.

"Hey Reggie, your father and I just got back. What are you doing now?"

"Oh I was just going to get some eggs and milk. I saw in the fridge that we were out so I figured I would go get some."

"On a Saturday night? Come on Reggie..." As the two were conversing, Reggie's dog Vader came over to Veronica and began to jump on her. She grabbed him and held him in her chest to muffle the noise he would make. _Why couldn't he come up with a better excuse._

"Honey, it's ok if you want to go out and see your friends for a little bit. Just come back home before midnight. I'm not going to quarantine you here. You work hard enough in school and football, you deserve some time to unwind."

"Gee... thanks mom." Reggie let out in a placid tone. He waited for her to move upstairs before the two of them exited the door.

"Milks and eggs... really?"

"Well, depending on how you look at it tonight..." Veronica slapped Reggie on the forearm as they entered the car.

"I should hate you but you're too damn funny, Reggie Mantle."

"So when do I get a nickname like the last one? Something better than Reggiekins, I hope." He asked, grinning very widely. Veronica simply remained quiet.

"Oh, sorry... Well this is my humble abode that I love so much. It's complete with seat warmers, complete surround sound, it's great at drifting. I bet it could compete with your dad's fanciest car."

Veronica did not care for Reggie's idolaltrous worship of his car, although she did enjoy the A/C that was blowing in the passenger seat. Reggie started heading toward the Southside of Riverdale to an area that would not likely have too many passers-by. "So tell me Reggie, when your mom was talking about your usual friends you hang out with, who was she referring to? Moose? Midge?"

Reggie's usual suave demeanor went away temporarily. "Well, to be honest, I don't really have 'one group'. I actually used to hang out with Archie and Jughead a lot when I was younger, but they kind of do their own things now."

Veronica felt surprised that someone who hosted a massive party did not really have a close group of friends; although maybe she should not have been. In some regard, she did not have too many close ones either. She was often more focused on being the premier social butterfly rather than developing any lasting friendships; which in turn, led her to do many regretful actions. "I see what, you mean when I was in New York last year I- Oh my gosh, is that Fred!"

As Reggie headed onto the highway, a truck passed them with a man visibly holding a gun up at Fred Andrews.

"Oh my gosh, Reggie. I need to call my dad. And Sheriff Keller. And... Are you going to follow him?"

"If we follow him, we can tell the police precisely where he is being taken. Do you have any objections?"

Veronica shook her head and Reggie Mantle became an unwilling participant in what would shape up to be one of the biggest skirmishes Riverdale was ever going to see.


	12. Ouroboros

Fred had a burlap sack removed from his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw himself in the company of an unsavory gang of Serpents in some sort of dingy hangout. There was a pool table, what could be described as a mini-bar and a tv that did not seem to match the rest of the decor; perhaps stolen.

"So what's the next step in the plan? Are you going to make me strip naked and shout 'shame' like in that one show?" Fred joked. A few of the serpents laughed but the one closest to him remained very serious.

"You're a funny guy, Fred, once the big man on campus. There was a reason we called ourselves the Fredheads..."

A million of proverbial neurological bridges formed in Fred's mind. "Jimmy?" he asked. He did not initially recognize him. He had a very weedy look about him, looking very unkempt and slightly malnourished. His demeanor, however, remained very confident.

"That's right, the occasional keyboardist when the occasion arose."

"You know, now that I think about it, I was against the idea of having a keyboardist. That was more of F.P.'s idea. I always felt keyboardist just wanted to hijack a band and feed off their popularity."

Jimmy crossed his arms before he spoke up. "Fred, let's cut to the chase. You probably have an idea why you are here and it's time to get _serious."_ Jimmy said in a psychotic way. "See that computer over there. You are going to log into and transfer all your asset into a separate account."

"You'll need the URL for that," Fred noted. _There is a reason these guys are criminals rather than able-bodied workers, he thought._

"Fred, did you think we would be so retarded as to not realize that. Do you not remember some of us here used to work for you?"

A chill went down Fred's spine. "Yes, yes. I do see some former employees in the room. None of whom I had a hand in letting go. That was... someone else."

A burly member of the gang spoke up with a very thick Northeastern accent. "Don't be so dang secretive Fred. We know you were screwing around with Hiram's wife. She was the one who had the pants on in the company. You couldn't be a man and step up for the guys. You were whipped buddy. Can't say I blame you either. She's a mighty fine specimen."

"What was I supposed to do? Let the guys who were brought back go? They were my original guys."

"Yeah, the same ones who left you." Fred recognized the man who spoke about as a patron from the bar. He had a large frame, with a mullet and had tattoos very prominent on his large arms in a cut-up vest.

"Loyalty must be an issue for the Andrews clan apparently. Can't keep your employees straight and you wife won't screw you anymore." The Serpent Gang began to chuckle and jeer while Fred remained straight face.

"Oy, I heard the chap likes to box. I say we set up a little fighting ring and see what he is worth."

"Trust me, you don't want to do that," Fred answered. Jimmy did not respect his wishes. He whistled and his fellow serpents moved in a circle. Only Fred and the man from the bar stood within it.

"Carl, you heard the man, give him a fight. Give him the Charlestown welcome he deserves."

Fred got him and immediately put his fists in a defensive stance. The man was much taller and huskier than he was, so he knew he would have to move with alacrity to win the fight. To his shock, Carl immediately came running at him and head-butted him in the stomach.

"This is an anything goes kinda match Fred...Generations change, ideologies change, fighting changes. What was once Boxing is now MMA." Fred pushed forward toward and dodged one of Carl's punches. He jabbed toward his head before thrusting forward with his other hand. Carl winced in pain and Fred took the opportunity to kick him in his kneecap.

"Let's just stop this, I don't want to have to hurt any..." Fred got hit in the nose before he could finish. Fred grabbed his neck and pulled him into a headlock. Carl started flailing around before Jimmy stepped in and broke up the fight.

"Very well, I think Fred has gotten his anger out. He'll need it when we steal everything important from him." _My ass, there is only one thing that is truly important in my life._

"Who is to say I'm going to login and give you my information. I don't think that's the real reason I'm here. If I learned anything from F.P., this is a hostage situation. And if I learned anything from F.P., the serpents work to protect their own. You want him out of prison. My assets are secondary."

The serpents looked at each other quietly before Carl spoke up. "Ofcourse we're not petty thieves. We have a much bigger plan that extends beyond getting back what's ours."

Fred looked on confused. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's going to be pure anarchy," Jimmy answered. "After what will happen tonight, Southside will practically be a no-go zone."

"- Oy Jimmy, we have something you might want to see." What Fred saw next broke him.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Archie said. His hands were tied up and he looked traumatized as he walked into the room.

Fred's whole system collapsed. His knees started shaking uncontrollably and his pulse rate probably broke a new record. "Please... Please don't hurt my son."

"Transfer the assets and nothing will happen to him. You have my word."

"Don't do it dad, he's bluffing. They want F.P. I know for a fact," Archie interjected.

"Archie, just stay quiet while I deal with this." Fred entered his password into the site and did as he was asked. That was, until yet another serpent entered the room.

"Jimmy, we were being trailed. I caught two people trailing us outside and they just suddenly ran off and drove away. Jefferson is following now, but they probably told someone about our location."

"Goddammit!" Jimmy exclaimed. "I knew you were hiding something from us Fred." Before he could finish his comment, a serpent pulled out a pistol and shot Fred in the chest.

The last thing Fred could remember was his son screaming in anguish while Jimmy angrily shouted out loud.


	13. Showdown

Betty tried to block Archie from exiting the parking lot. It did not work. Archie reversed his truck, did a donut around the grass, and took off. All Betty and Kevin could do was watch. Without speaking, they both got in Kevin's car.

"We have to follow him. He's going to hurt Jughead or get himself hurt," Betty pleaded.

"You're right, he will. Which is why we have to go to my dad's and get help. We'll be safe there and he can send his men to track him down."

"I'm sure he's already set down a whole squadron down to deal with the Serpents. Do you really think he will have any left to look for Archie? Riverdale is just a small town after all.."

"I don't know, maybe they can send in a patrol to find wherever the hell Archie went," Kevin said, clearly under much distress. The two eventually reached the police station after a short drive, noticing a bunch of police cars surrounding the station. F.P. had not yet been transferred to the state prison as he was still under trial. In the meantime, he was still being heldup in the holding area of the police station as he was deemed too big of a threat to society to walk freely. The two got out of the car and were meet with stern faces from the police officers. When they entered the building, Betty saw Sheriff Keller speaking very angrily on the phone.

"This can't be good," Kevin said looking at her. Sheriff Keller slammed the phone down in the office.

"We have a stand-down order," he said flatly. Betty and Kevin both stood agape before he explained further. "Mayor McCoy says that if we intervene in the situation, a riot could erupt in retaliation. Reports are that the Serpents have guys coming in through all over: Down Upstate, some Irish gangs from the North, even some guys further southeast."

"Why don't they call in the National Guard or something then?"

Sheriff Keller paused silently before answering. "She doesn't want the town to fall under controversy for using police brutality. I whole heartedly disagree with it, but we don't have a choice."

"Police brutality... My goodness, do they really have think that low of you..." Betty stood there stunned.

"If anything, a town that just lets itself succumb to a riot would be under my scrutiny, heck national scrutiny in this day and age where anyone with a phone can record and it send it to everyone," Kevin added. "There is something else going on here."

"I wish I had an answer for you, but if I defy the police's orders, I can lose my license as a police officer. Yet another thing I hate about my job," Sheriff Keller said. Betty was scared, but was determined to help Archie. _Think Betty, there has to be something you could do._ Betty felt a vibration come through her phone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Veronica looked back as Reggie drove his car across the bridge.

"I really hope they didn't see us. I told you we shouldn't have stayed there too long. I think one of the guys saw us through the basement window."

"We'll be fine, I'm going to put this into high gear. If we get pulled over by a cop, at least we can tell them what we saw." Reggie shifted a few gears into his car and started driving close to 80 mph. _The police, Veronica remembered. I need to call them._ Veronica pulled out her phone and called the police station. She was picked up by an unexpected person.

"Hello, can I help you," Betty answered.

"Betty... Is Sheriff Keller there." She wondered what the heck was going on and was confused to why Betty was there.

"He's busy, what do you need?" _The hell, Veronica thought._

"We know the location of Fred, he's held up in a basement near Patterson Lane."

"Who is we?" Betty asked suspiciously.

"Me and... Reggie." Veronica felt embarrassed to share this information but it was best to be truthful in a situation like this.

"Ok, I'll tell Sheriff Keller, although he might not be able to do anything. Apparently there is a stand-down order from the Mayor."

"What the hell, is Archie okay and everything at least?"

Betty paused on the phone before answering. "He took off when he found out his dad was kidnapped. He went... to Jughead's house. Or at least was going there."

"You let him go on his own! How could you! After all he went for..." Veronica paused, taking in the entirety of everything that had happened. She should be furious at Archie but she still felt concerned for him for whatever reason.

"I tried to stop him but he drove away too quickly."

"Well you should have tried harder! This is ridiculous! I can't believe everything that is happening right now." Veronica felt a thud and was pushed forward in her seat. A black pick-up truck was coming in at them with ramming speed. Veronica put down the phone and put her hand on Reggie's shoulder.

"You need to get back to my daddy's place. He has a security detail, he'll protect us."

"That's almost a straight shot from here. I need to be able to to shake him. I'm going to go through town square first." Reggie shifted a few gears up in his car and sped up close to 100 MPH. Veronica felt a slight reverb in the car and held her arms tightly on the rests of her seat.

Reggie turned left and pulled into the town center, a decision he immediately regretted. Several buildings were set a flame while a legion of bikers circled around the area. A few of the men noticed Reggie's vehicle and attempted to blockade them. Veronica looked over at Reggie and saw he was not going to acquiesce. He rammed right though the two cyclists.

"Reggie, you need to get out of here and head to my-" Another cyclist came from the side and then shoved the car and began to spin out of the way and crashed into a fire hydrant. An airbag opened in the car and Reggie grabbed her to make sure she did not get engulfed by it. The nearby cyclist had crashed into a building.

"V, we're about three blocks away from the main riot. We need to run, now!" Reggie and Veronica got out of the car and sped off. Reggie took the lead and decided that the best strategy was to zigzag through the street blocks to lose the guy. Veronica noticed that many of the new developments had clearly been tampered with. Her father's gentrification of the city was under siege. _Daddy thought he could just come in and build an empire._ After a few twists and turns, they stopped and hid behind a wall. A group of serpents were marching toward the center of the square. Among them was Jughead Jones.

"That son of a bitch, I originally felt sorry for him for what happened to him. Then he goes out and becomes a criminal."

"We got to get out of here. There are too many of them." Veronica and Reggie snuck back the other way, but to their great surprise, the Serpents moved toward their direction. _This is unbelievable, thought Veronica. I should have stayed home tonight. I just had to go on this stupid camping trip._ _Metaphor for my life right now, just watching it and go up in smoke. Wait, is that smoke?!_

A few smoke bombs had been thrown in the serpents direction. Across the back side of the street, Professor Flutesnoot, Dilton Doiley and a few other students were lobbing smoke bombs at the incoming gang.

"Riverdale will not be trifled with. I will not see my city run by hooligan barbarism," The Professor proclaimed. The smoke covered a significant portion of them, with many of them dropping their crowbars and bats because of the blinding smoke. Veronica could hear footsteps come behind them as members of the Riverdale Cross Country and Soccer Teams stampeded behind them and shoved them down while running straight through the smoke. A few of the Serpents decided to chase after them but were met with an ever great opposing force: The Riverdale Football team.

"You think you can mess with us!" Moose roared euphorically as he shoved down a Serpent to the ground. The football team had flanked the Serpents by running from the side perpendicular to the street and ambushed them as they entered the intersection. A coordinated effort by Riverdale High. The other members of the Football Team began pulling down the rest of the Serpents and tying their hands together with rope in place of handcuffs. Veronica tried to spot Jughead but could not see him. That was, until she saw him in a car with Betty and Kevin.

Kevin pulled out in front of them in the street. "Here, get in," he said as Jughead opened up the backseat door and the two rolled in next to him. He was still adorned in his Serpent Jacket but looked unharmed and not the least bit confused.

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Veronica asked.

"The freaking ending of _The Two Towers_ just happened," Reggie characteristically said in dissonance with everyone else's feelings.

"You guys need to thank Betty. She coordinated everything," Jughead said. "I told her I was going undercover with the Serpents and told them where exactly would be best to raid the city. She came up with the idea to use the student body to plan a surprise attack. Started with Dilton and then to Moose and it just spiderwebbed out from there."

"A bunch of people blockaded around the town centre so they could not escape. I think Mayor McCoy will finally let the police come in and do their job now that the threat has been taken care of."

"Something else is going on, I just know it," Betty said. Veronica stayed quiet and took in everything that happened. Everything that transpired was after Archie had...

"Oh my gosh, I forgot about Archie! Jughead did you see him when he left?"

"No, although I saw a truck by my house. I wonder if... oh, no," Jughead stopped, realizing who that person was.

"No, no, no, no, no," Betty let out. "He's with Fred, I just know it." She let out a few tears. Veronica instinctively pulled out her phone and dialed a number.


	14. Sins of Thy Father

Archie pulled away from the grip of the serpent who held him and fell to his knees. "Get a bandage, get something to put pressure on him," he said frantically. Some of the serpents listened to him and went out of the room to find bandages and medical gauze to put around his wound. Archie found the entrance of the bullet and put his hands on it to alleviate all the blood loss.

"Kid, jeez, I'm sorry, we'll do our best to help the guy," a serpent called out. Archie ignored him and continued pushing down on the wound. A few of the serpents came back and bandaged him up around his chest. Archie seized the opportunity to rush up on the Serpent who shot his father. The serpent did not have his weapon brandished and he merely held his hands up to resist Archie's advance. Archie uppercutted him in the face and then knocked him down with a forceful front kick.

"Son, I know it won't make you feel any better, but if you want to leave you can," Jimmy said while sitting by the comatose Fred.

"Like hell, I'm not leaving my father! Why don't you just let me take him to the hospital if you care so much about me?" Archie was still steaming with anger and looked ready to fight any of the other serpents just to let out the overflow of anger in his system.

"It all comes down to loyalty son."

"I'm not your son!" Archie was having a manic attack. Living without father was not an option. It can never be an option. Archie ran through all the decisions that had occurred that had led to this moment. He should have went home with his dad instead of going to the diner. He should not have tried to chased Jughead down and instead gone straight to the police. He should not have gone on the camping trip in the first place. It did not matter. If he made the wrong decision here, it could be all over.

"Ya see, when I was around your age, Fred, F.P., myself and a few others never thought we would be able to go to college. We weren't in great financial shape, we did not have scholarship worthy grades, so we made a pact that we would stay together."

"So you made my dad your enemy because he left and wanted to make a career for himself."

"No, it's not that. F.P. made a career of himself too but he had an oath to carry as a Serpent. People like us don't have the opportunity that all those guppies you see up north that come and go and eventually leave for the city, only to come back to start a life with a new family and start the cycle over. Fred was more well off than most of us but was never all high and mighty about it. He made a lot of promises that he would never be able to keep."

Archie ignored him and remained focus on the well-being of his father. He was unconscious but he could feel his vital signs still there. He got up and growled at Jimmy, still shaking in anger. Archie attempted to strike Jimmy in the head but was foiled when he blocked the strike by putting his arms together in an X shape before quickly shoving him back.

"You see we were going to buy a boat together. The group of Fredheads that is. Take it out on the summers up north. We made a bunch of money off a few local gigs. Guess who took the money and ran? Said he was going to fund his business that would help all of us. Just an amateur ponzi scheme when you think about it. No wonder he locked arms with a crook like Hiram Lodge."

Archie's face became more red than his natural hair color as he said that. If he couldn't beat that crap out of him, he was going to take his anger out on someone else. He struck Carl in the chest who capriciously put his hands to defend himself and sat down in a corner. Archie then utilized his football skillset to tackle two nearby ones simultaneously. None of them were putting up much of a fight. Archie did not care.

"Let me and my dad out now!"

"Kid, I know your under duress and shit but like I said, we Serpents don't let one of our own be held up in a hole. We gotta get him out and your father just happened to have done some of us dirty. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth kind of thing," said a beady eyed scraggily serpent with an elaborate jacket. Archie did not know his name nor did he care to. He charged at him, pinning him to the wall and taking the portrait off the wall to bang him in the head without giving him too serious of head trauma.

"Damn son, you need to bottle up that rage. Become a cage fighter and head to Vegas," Carl sneered. Archie knew what he was trying to do but he tried his best to remain as calm as he humanly could in this situation.

"Did you ever think maybe you guys screwed up! Did you ever think that maybe you could have taken your life into your own hands and made something of yourself! Every thing you do in life is a decision that branches off into something else. I have made so many mistakes in my life and I will own up to everyone of them! I chose not to tell the girl I love how I really felt and I had to deal with it. I wish I could have told my dad how much I loved him before I left, maybe my mom too!" Archie brought all of this out before he started to cry. Jimmy's countenance remained the same.

"You're right kid, we all have our sad stories. And a lot of them are sad because of being at the whim of other people. You may see him as your savior but he is the reason a lot of us are in the position we are in now. We have no choice but to work in construction and once that plug is pulled, it's a scramble just to survive. Just bottom of the barrel picking up the scraps. We're taking it in our hands in the only way possible."

"Agency! You have agency! You can choose to do something right now. I want to be able to choose. I want to be able to live- with my dad! That's all I want right now and I can't have it."

Jimmy licked his fingers before approaching Archie. "Listen sonny, you have to remember-"

"-Get down on the ground now!" A couple of M84s were jettisoned into the compound and two men armed with AR-15s entered. A stocky man with protective gear and a red beard came toward Archie and grabbed him.

"Let's get you out of here kid." He put his arm around Archie's back and sprinted out of the compound with his partner firing a few shots into the room before picking up Fred and trailing behind both of them. The next few moments all happened in slow motion. Archie got out of the house, was thrust into the car and enjoyed the view of the moon blissfully above them. A beacon of freedom.

"Archie Andrews, we're Hiram Lodge's security team. We're going to get your father to the hospital and get you home."

Archie closed his eyes and exhaled.

A/N: Wow, 14 chapters now and I don't know really what to make of this story. I feel it's gotten off the rails too much and differed from the genre I originally wanted it to be. I think the next Chapter will probably be the last one as I want to focus on a new Project. Thank you all for the support and let me know about your thoughts/wishes of the future of the story. TTFN.


	15. Goodbye Archie

Archie sat next to Jughead waiting outside the operating room. The others were in the main lobby's waiting area as they were not family. Only family was allowed to visit. As Fred was once Jughead's guardian, he was allowed to sit just outside and be the first to visit him.

Archie was still shaking from what had happened and had nothing to say. Jughead had his hands together and was jittering up and down. Archie was not keen on breaking the silence so Jughead did it for him. "Long night eh? And to think we were out kayaking earlier today." Archie remained silent.

"Sorry, Arch. I really hope your dad gets better. He seemed to be well when we last saw him." He fiddled his nose and Archie stared back at him.

"I'm sorry too Jughead. I was a jerk and you're right, I can be condescending. I guess I never took into consideration how you feel with you being away from your family, now that my dad is- well I'm glad we're good." Archie leaned over to hug him.

"You know I think high school has changed me too much. To be honest, I was a little intimidated by the whole thing and I caught up in trying to find an identity because I felt too idle. My mom and my sister moving away didn't help things either. I think I just need to- I guess- relax more."

"Ah man, that's a word I could use now. So much garbage to deal with now. School, football, work... I don't even know what is going to happen with my dad's company now. I feel like it never stops."

Jughead swiveled his tongue in his mouth before making his next point. His beanie was sagging down and he looked like he was pontificating what he was going to say next. Archie had felt Jughead had changed since he was in High School. Before he felt he was much more nonchalant- someone who made cleverly timed jokes and was overall a pretty laid back guy. He was someone who he could casually chat with in-between classes and even set his head straight when he was too preoccupied by girls. Ever since High School, he sometimes just came off as too forced. Intelligent, yes; but a little too into himself.

"Maybe you could take some time off from some of those things Arch. I mean, I don't know about you but you but I feel taking some time off keeps your mind straight. It keeps me fresh and lets me be able to brighten people's day- Well that's what I used to do. I guess I just got frustrated."

"About Betty right?"

"I guess we were going to talk about it sooner than later. But yeah, I really liked her. For a long time and yeah it felt amazing when we were first together. She was my first girlfriend, but after a while I knew it wasn't going to last long. It was always an issue managing time we spent together in private and time she wanted to go out. And I don't think she respected my boundaries well enough."

"You should talk to her about it. I think she really cares for you and I think it would be a shame for you guys to end on a bad note like that."

"Arch- is that what you really want?" Jughead had a huge smirk on his face. Before Archie could respond, the nurse walked out into the hallway and signaled he was ready for a visit.

"I think I'll leave you alone with your dad." Jughead walked back into the main corridor of the hospital, leaving Archie to visit his dad. He walked in and saw his dad laying there still with a tube attached to his chest.

"Dad, I am so sorry for putting you in this..."

"Archie, don't blame yourself." Fred's voice was very weak and did not sound like his usual charismatic self.

"So, what's the status?" Archie knew his question was a bit blunt to ask right away but he wanted to find out immediately.

"I have a pretty bad spinal injury. Doctors say it's up in the air whether I'll be able to do strenuous work again. I won't be able to walk for at least six months and I'll have to go through extensive physical therapy to get back to shape. They said if I was shot two inches lower, I would have died."

"So... what's going to happen now with your work? Do you have benefits at least?"

"Well, as it turns out, Hiram Lodge isn't such a jerk after all. His insurance plan is great, I can afford the best physical therapy in the state and I'll receive pension for the time I'm off."

"That's great then. I mean I could probably fill in for you when you're off. I learned so much compared to last year. Maybe I could even rearrange my schedule to get early or something."

Fred looked stone faced. Archie knew what came next was probably going to be some objectification. Fred inhaled through his nose deeply before speaking. "You see Archie... With myself unable to fill the role as a working legal guardian- I know you're not going to like this but I'm sorry..."

"I don't want to move to Chicago. I want to stay here with you!" Archie began tearing up and his father literally could only look on.

"I already had them call your mother and she said she agrees completely. I told you last year it wasn't safe and this has only proven my point further."

"What if I become an emancipated minor? We could still live together- I'm also 17 anyway!"

"Archie, the issue isn't your maturity. The issue is your general safety. The Serpents had it for me and you were endangered because of it. It's for the best that you relocate for the time being."

Archie looked mortified. "This is ridiculous. I can't believe I'm forced to leave because of some stupid criminals out there. They're basically dictating my life for me!"

"I talked to your mom about this scenario. She's already picked out a good possible Private School for you to attend that has a good music program. It might open up some doors for you. Your mom and I were talking about it before any of this even happened."

Archie was still in tears. Getting up in the morning and eating breakfast with his dad had been the one constant in his life. With all the madness that happened, this kept him straight a lot of the time. Just some cereal and coffee. Let alone the thought of being away from Betty...

"I really do not like this, but I will always respect your wishes. I thought I lost you tonight. When I was in that room, all I wanted was to have one more moment with you again. One more time where I could talk to you and..." Archie leaned down to embrace his dad.

"You are my world Archie. There's no Fred Andrews without Archie Andrews. This move isn't going to be any more easy on me than it is for you. I hate this more than the pain in my back right now," he laughed.

The nurse peaked her body through the door and announced there was another visit. "I normally keep it to family but he was super adamant about seeing you right away." Hiram Lodge entered the room, as did Hermione who was holding a vase of flowers.

"Well, in my business, all our employees are family," Hiram said with a wide grin.

"Hiram, if your security detail wasn't there, I... thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart," Fred let out with slight tears on his face.

"You should thank my daughter. She was the one who called me and asked me to send them. Not everyone is fortunate to be the owner of a Fortune 500 Company and have their own security detail so of course I sent them. That, and there was collusion between the Serpents and the Mayor that caused the police to stand down."

"A stand down order, you've got to be kidding me..." Fred said.

"It's still an on-going investigation but they found a text message between one of the Serpents and Mayor McCoy. We don't know if it was collusion, black mail or what but there were some ties... Suffice to say, she has stepped down and there is going to be a new Mayoral Election happening shortly."

Hermione walked toward Fred and gave him a hug after placing the flowers on the adjacent table. "We've decided that the new recreational center is going to be named after you. You laid the groundwork so it's only fitting that we should name it after you."

"The rec-center? What about the new golf course that is coming?" Fred jibed.

"Fred, when that is opened, you will be the first one that gets to tee off. I promise you that."

"Hey Archie, why don't you step outside and hangout with your friends for a bit. Catch some fresh air for a bit while us 'grown ups' have a chat."

"Whatever you say dad." Archie complied, walking out the door and toward the lobby. It was a busy night as many of the townspeople had suffered injuries, Serpents included. From a distance, he saw Betty, Jughead, and Veronica all sitting together in a nearby section of chairs with Jughead of course eating a snack bar.

"How is he?" Betty asked nervously.

"He'll be alright. Give it six months or so and he should be fine."

"That's great. I'm glad to hear it's nothing too permanent," Veronica answered.

Archie's face still looked flushed up from his tears earlier. "What's wrong" Betty asked.

"I have some bad news," he said clearing up his throat. "My dad said that with him in his current state, that I will have to move to Chicago with my mom." A collective gasp escaped from Veronica and Jughead while Betty looked like she was hit by a frying pan.

"You're leaving? When? For how long?"

"I don't know yet, but it seemed pretty immediate." In an outstandingly impeccable fashion, Archie had his phone go off. He had received an email with a flight itinerary for tomorrow afternoon sent via his mother.

"I guess this is my last night here. Better go home and pack then if that's the case."

"Archie this is all so sudden? Do you need any help?" Veronica asked.

"Maybe should we all go out one last time," Jughead added.

"It's alright guys, I just want to go home and relax right now. We can all meet up before I leave tomorrow if you want."

Betty grabbed him by the arm. "I can take Archie home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Veronica and Jughead had puzzled looks on their face but they could not say anything as Betty had already led Archie well out of the vicinity. After they checked out of the hospital, Betty faced herself toward Archie and slapped him.

"You were an absolute knucklehead going out there without me. I was so worried I think I grew an ulcer. Maybe two."

"I'm sorry Betty. I was just so furious after everything that happened I couldn't think and... I'm sorry."

"You wanted to beat up Jughead? Didn't you?"

"At first I was really furious... so maybe at first. But I changed my mind when I got there and wasn't got to beat up your ex-boyfriend and my best friend. It wasn't the Andrews way."

"And what exactly is the Andrews way?"

Archie leaned down, grabbed her neck, and kissed her. Betty pulled in close and as they parted, she had the widest smile on her face.

"I have been waiting so long for that. You have no idea how..."

Betty interrupted him. "Shhh, just save it for when we get back home. Just, not here." The two of them got in Betty's car and remained quiet for a couple of minutes as she pulled out into the main road. It was like the feeling of having your last day before school starts- times a thousand. Archie did not want tomorrow to come.

"Why does this all feel so anticlimactic," Archie said in an exasperated tone.

"Archie, you're acting like this is the end all be all of our relationship. It's 2017, not 1997 where you have to be careful that you don't get charged for talking for an hour over a corded phone. We have things called 'family plan' now. Don't worry about it."

Archie paused a bit before what he said next. "You know that whole last minute organization of the community was something else. You're a real hero, Betty Cooper."

"Oh don't lay it on too thick. Veronica was the one who really saved you. You're a real lucky man... Archiekins..." Archie rolled his eyes as they pulled into the Cooper's driveway. "It be best to get you all packed so Mama Andrews will be happy. I gotta be looking out for her boy."

"Well, she always liked you best Betty. It's a shame too. I thought we'd be next door neighbors till we'd graduate. And..." Archie stopped when he remembered his faux-proposal when he was younger and did not want to make Betty feel embarrassed. To his relief, she did not catch on. The two of them walked into house with a exuberant greeting from Vegas. _The poor dog has no idea, Archie thought._

"I'm going to miss you boy," he said as he patted him on the head. The dog followed them up stairs as Betty began rummaging through Archie's things.

"You better hope it's not too full of a plane so you can bring this on," she said while strumming his guitar. Archie realized how economical he had to be with packing. At most he was going to be able to fill two suit cases and a back pack, not including his guitar. Everything else would probably have to be sent via mail.

"Remember when we used to do mock concerts and you would play on the tambourine. Then we would invite her parents to the concert and they would just look confused."

"Quit getting nostalgic on me Archie. You need to focus on the present, right now. Getting packed," she playfully tossed a bunch of shirts in his direction to be put in his suitcase. "You'll probably have a nice new music program there. Lot of artists come out of Chicago."

"It's a shame I never formed a full-fledged band. I don't like being solo out there, it's scary."

"I hear that bud." The two got done packing relatively quickly and decided to spend some time outside in Archie's backyard. A deluge of memories came over Archie as they approached the swing-set area. He had not used it in a while and it remained somewhat of an obtuse memento of his childhood that his family never bothered to get rid of.

"That swing set looks so dilapidated. When did you last clean that thing?" Betty asked.

"Dilapidated? I prefer the term rustic," Archie said jokingly before sitting on the swingset.

"You're really going to go for that cliche. Expect me to just sit down on the swings and regale of stories under the stars. No, you're going to have to catch me first." Betty climbed up the swing's sets bars and sat atop in the wooded play area. Archie followed her up and was impeded by an embrace and kiss from Betty.

"Your mom might be able to see us," Archie warned.

"I don't care." She pulled herself on top off him and continued pecking him. Archie moves his hands up her sides before kissing her neck.

"You smell really good," Archie let out before locking his lips with Betty. He began pulling off her shirt before her hands halted him.

"We better head inside for that. It's one of those 'I tell my mom I slept in your basement' kind of situations."

"I don't have a basement."

"I know."

Archie lifted her up and carried her inside to his bedroom. Archie felt the most masculine he had ever been feeling Betty's hands wrapped around his neck to hold on to him. When they reached his bed, Archie gently dropped her and leaned down to kiss her lips. He joined her in the bed and held her softly, playing with the back of her hair and continued to lock his lips with her's. A sense of euphoria overcame Archie and the last thing he could remember was falling asleep with the girl he loved wrapped around him.

Archie felt an uncomfortable sloppy tongue on his face when Vegas greeted him next to the bed. He checked his phone next to his bed and saw he had about a dozen missed messages. A couple were likely from his dad and a bunch from the Cooper's. He did not even think of responding to any of them and instead laid motionless in bed. He had about a few hours before he had to leave for his flight and wanted to spend at least another of it just laying in bed relaxing.

"Aren't you supposed to make me breakfast in-bed by now," Betty murmured after just waking up. "Isn't that how it will work from now on?"

"Maybe one day, we'll see. Before long we'll be in college. I'm sure it will all feel like a blink of an eye."

Archie played with her hair and then felt the smooth skin by running his hand down her tricep. "Maybe I'll come back here and take over my father's company. Come back to Riverdale for you."

Betty laughed. "Archie, you're not going to come back. I knew that since day one that wasn't going to be the case.

"You did? How?"

"Just an inkling." She kissed him on the cheek before getting up to get dressed.

Archie could feel almost a palpable sense of time whisking away with every minute that passed; especially with the more mundane tasks he had for the morning. After getting dressed and showered, he went down to see that Betty was already downstairs.

"Have some toast," she offered him as he came down to the kitchen. It was a nice day out but Archie was not going to enjoy it while being cooped up in a plane.

"I invited the gang over to say goodbye," Betty said. "It was a long night for everyone but they all seemed game."

A few moments later they came to the door. Jughead was the first to enter and greeted him with a hug.

"I can't believe you're the one that has to move this time. It's like weird bookends. I came in and you now you leave. Sorry, I know I shouldn't state the obvious but as a writer I can't help but notice the crazy irony."

"Better yet, we met as friends and we left as friends. I'm going to miss you brother." Archie responded in a somber tone. Their two's fists bumped on top of each other before they brought their hands togethers and wiggled their fingers not unlike a cartoon they saw as kids.

Veronica was next to say her goodbyes. She was standing alongside Reggie, implying a possible union between the two. "Archie I really hope I'll get to visit you in Chicago. Daddy says we might go there for an owner's meeting so finger's crossed. I'll miss you!" Everyone looked surprised how she was so amiable to Archie despite their recent breakup; Reggie included.

"Veronica, I owe you everything right now. If you hadn't made that call, I might not even be here. Same with my dad." He leaned in to give her a hug.

"Archie, the team is going to miss you. I'm going to miss having a red-headed running back as my go-to option. It means less scouts will probably notice me now. I mean an Asian quarterback is already enough of an enigma but a red-headed running back? Bruh, we've been breaking serious stereotypes.

"Thanks… Reggie. I'll miss you too man. All the good times, not just football. Even the time you put bugs in my lunch."

Kevin was last. "Archie, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you. I think you and your dad are stand-up guys and the group of friends I have are the best I have ever had. It's not going to be the same without you."

"I'm going to miss you too Kevin. You and your dad are great men and great citizens. You're going to be what holds Riverdale together." Tears came out Kevin's eyes as he said that and Betty signaled it was time for them to go. She helped Archie put his luggage in her car and waved goodbye to their friends as they drove to the airport.

"This isn't fair. How it all has to end like this," Archie lamented as they pulled out into the street and toward the main road.

"Life isn't fair, Archie. My sister learned that the hard way. Be thankful for what you have and who you have now."

The two remained quiet until they reached the airport and parked in the terminal parking lot. It was a small local airport and relatively quiet. It remained that way as Archie electronically got his tickets, put on his luggage and finally headed his way toward the terminal.

"So is the part where you plead for me to stay somehow? Where you want me to defy my family's orders and tell me how I could stay with you in some impossible manner."

"No Archie, this is the part when your girlfriend tells you it's going to be okay. You're going to have a great time and your mom will be so happy to have you in her life again. She deserves you."

Archie looked a little flustered. "Girlfriend? I didn't know we were using labels this early."

"Oh you just had to make fun of my semantics after I said something really nice about you," she laughed before kissing him on the lips.

"I don't deserve you Betty."

"No one does. I chose you. And I'm sticking through with this through thick and thin."

"I'm definitely coming back as much as I can. Prom, graduation… whatever it is, I'll find my way. I'll use it to motivate to get a freaking tour bus with my music I have to."

Betty laughed. "Alright, you better get going. Your flight is leaving pretty soon. TSA gets really cranky around this time."

"Bye Betty. I'll call you when I get back. I'll call you as much as possible." The two embraced once again and Archie finally headed down the stairs with his bag in hand. It was a strong tide of melancholy that he never felt before. He had just gotten to spend time with his soulmate— a label he was not ready to tell to her but what he felt—- and was now being thrust into an unknown land with his mom being his lone guide. Archie stumbled his way through security, not trying to let his tears show too much and just wanted to sit down in his terminal and stop for a few moments. He rushed through the corridor and found a vacant seat. After sitting still momentarily, a buzz came on in his phone.

"You really didn't think you were going to leave without saying goodbye to your old man," Fred said on the phone. His voice was notably much better from last night.

"I'm sorry dad, it was all sudden and I would have said bye before we left but…"

"What did I say about saying sorry Archie? You wanted to spend time with your beau. You're too old now to hang out with your dad," he joked.

"When I get back, you're going to be the first one I visit. Not Betty, you. And when you can walk again, we are to finish ground together like we were supposed to."

"You know Arch, I just want you to focus on you right now. You deserve a break after all you've been through. I like the idea of coming to see you and going to a Cubs game."

"Sounds good dad. By the way, I thought of a new band name."

"Oh yeah?"

"The Archies. If you can pull off the Fredheads, I think can pull it off. It's super cheesy but it's so cheesy it works. I think people need some more stuff on the lighter side."

"I couldn't agree more son. Anyway, enjoy your flight over there and call me when you get there. Oh yeah, and next time you are over here, the bulldozer is yours."

"Goodbye Dad. I love you."

"Love you too son." He hung up and Archie let out a big sigh. He was desperate to find anything to get his mind off all his worries and rustled through his backpack to grab his book. To his surprise, he felt a large silver coin in the padding. On it's one side was the face of a wise old man.

"Eisenhower? The one who built all the roads." He held it up to examine it as it diffracted the light in his face. _Is this a sign that I I need to build something, he thought. What could it be though._ Archie flicked it with his fingers and snagged it in the air. A new start was where he would build.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the support and all the reviews throughout the duration of this story. I had so much fun writing this and I hoped others did too, despite all my occasional (or maybe not so occasional) mishaps in the writing. I may write an Epilogue but for now this stands as the final chapter of the story. Thank you all for the support and Happy Belated Independence Day. Cheers!


	16. Epilogue

Betty opened up her window to catch the draft from outside. It was an especially blustery day in mid-November and she caught a glimpse of the house of the boy who had been her childhood-friend for the longest time. It was that time of the year where the pressure of school had subsided a bit. Fall sports were over(although cheerleading for Betty had continued because of basketball) and there seemed to be a feeling of warmth came from all the fallen sugar maple leaves that were just waiting to be raked. This particular Saturday afternoon, however, Betty was babysitting.

"I can't believe you own these CDs," Jellybean called out, rustling through all of Betty's collection in a small, hand-crafted basket. Betty rolled her eyes as she walked over toward the girl.

"I'm sorry they're not the psychedelic rock that you and your brother like. He actually loaned me a few CDs but the most I could get into were the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I heard that he's been teaching you the drums too. How's that been going?"

"Okay. I'm not quite up to the rhythm he can keep but he's helped me out a lot. I'm really glad we're living together again." It was true. Gladys Jones and her daughter had moved back to Riverdale to become closer to their son. The move also meant that Jughead Jones would return to his old High School; slightly to his own disappointment as he had made plenty of good friends there.

"Did you know Henry Hudson's boat he was on when he was mutinied was found not too far from here? We learned about in class last week."

"Yes, yes I did. That was one of the few things I remember from that year in third grade. We learned about like 25 explorers and I can remember about five of them."

The two girls continued doing their homework until a familiar face came through the doorway.

"I figured you two were hungry so I thought I would make a quick pick-up," Jughead said while holding a bag of takeout from Pop' Shoppe.

"Did you finish the powerpoint about the Eastern European country? It took Nancy and I forever to finish ours on Herzegovina. I hated how we got to pick last."

Jughead chuckled while putting the takeout on her desk. "Thankfully Dilton is an expert on doing a lot of work to do no work at all. He set up an algorithm where all the required information was searched automatically."

Betty smirked while simultaneously feeling slightly intimidated by his presence. It had been weird to be living next to her ex, let alone having him move right next to her. Fred Andrews had decided to sell his house since it would just be him. He now lived in a newly built apartment that was conveniently near a place he could do his physical therapy. It was something that took her by shock and left her a little melancholy considering who previously used to live there, but she had adjusted.

"Sounds like you had to do very little work at all," Betty teased.

"Well, I was more of an expert on the digital design part of it. Give it the pizzaz it needs." Jughead blushed a bit as he spoke.

"You know, I think my mom might be hiring some graphic artists to intern this summer. You might want to look into it."

"Well maybe, I honestly have no idea what I'l be doing this summer. In the meantime, Jellybean, I think it's time we let Betty have her space."

"It's ok, you two can stay and eat if you want."

"No, it's ok. I know you have plans to talk to someone. He told me himself. See you later, Betty."

"Bye Betty, try not to listen to too much crappy music," Jellybean coaxed.

"Be nice, Jellybean," replied Jughead. Betty smiled uncomfortably as two took their takeout and left the room. Betty still had hours of work to do thanks to the 4 AP courses she was taking this semester and was ready for another weekend where her social life would be lacking. Before she could continue, her sister walked into the room while holding her baby.

"I see you've cleaned your room. You took my advice."

"I did. I haven't been listening to as many podcasts about professors telling you about the importance of cleaning your room. I've been a little busy for that."

Polly rolled her eyes while double taking to hold on tighter to her son. "It's not like I have a lot of free time either Betty. Being a mom takes a lot of time. And not a lot of free time to go out and about either."

"I can watch him a bit if you want to rest," Betty offered. She had done a fair bit of babysitting before but Polly often remained adamant about watching him on her own time.

"Weren't you going to make plans to talk to him?"

"No, he left already," answered Betty.

"I'm not talking about Jughead. You know who I'm talking about." Polly's features lit up as she spoke.

"Oh well, we planned to. I've been real busy today so I'm not sure if he will be able to..."

"What's that thing coming out of your window sill. Is that a piece of paper or something?" Polly interrupted. Betty approached the window sill and saw a small piece of paper protruding out from the crack within the window sill's base. It was so cleverly hidden that this was the first time Betty had ever seen it. She pulled it out with her two fingers, unfolded it and gasped.

"How did I just find this now," Betty said almost in tears. Betty quickly scanned the paper and saw 5 letters at the bottom that made her heart jump.

"Wow, he's quite the boyfriend. And parabolic if I may add too," Polly grinned.

"How am I just finding this now." Betty wanted to immediately read it but decided to wait.

"Maybe he wanted you to find it to brighten you on a bad day. That's actually really romantic. I'll go and let you it by yourself." Polly exited and left Betty alone to read the mysterious note. A feeling of anxiety suddenly consumed her. _Was he too afraid to tell me something?, she thought._ Betty sat on her bed and exhaled before beginning to read the note.

 _Dear Betty,_

 _I really wish we could have spent more time together before I left. I am so thankful for all that you have done for me and I don't deserve you. I am sorry for acting like an ass tonight and I'm lucky that you were so brave and saved the town. I don't know where this next year will take us but I just know that you are the rock in this crazy river and anyone who doesn't love you is losing out in life._

 _P.S. I hope you enjoy this poem I wrote for you_

 _Golden is how I felt when I played a song,_

 _Strumming my guitar to my own tune_

 _but something felt all wrong._

 _My heart was in the wrong place._

 _A void that grew deeper and deeper_

 _yet I alighted something else in_

 _my heart. A desire to rebuild_

 _my own consciousness._

 _Golden is your hair as it is_

 _effervescently flowing in_

 _the sun. Forever sun kissed_

 _and forever blessed._

 _While my passion may take_

 _me on an unknown path,_

 _your golden aura leads me_

 _on the right one._

 _Golden is a feeling I hope_

 _will never fade. I want to feel_

 _it forever. And when it will_

 _inevitably go away, I will_

 _be okay. Because emblazoned_

 _in gold are memories I have_

 _of you and they will last forever._

 _Stay gold._

 _Love,_

 _Archie_

Betty placed the note on her desk and looked outside her window. He felt worlds away yet he somehow came back to her.

To be continued?


	17. Long Way Back from 17

Betty reached for her leg and felt a bit of discomfort. She had bruised it after falling down from a flyer routine from a week ago and was still feeling slight pain. That, and it was the time of the year when the Cheerleading Team was pulling double duty for both the basketball and football teams. It meant more practices, more games to-go-to, and less sleep.

"Straighten your back Ms. Klump, I don't want to see any of you cheating on these stretches," Ms. Hebert called out. She was a former New York Jets cheerleader and Veronica's personal coach in her spare time. Veronica made it a point to tell Betty about her past experiences, whether Betty really wanted to hear it or not.

"Alright girls, get in formation," the coach barked out. Betty stood over to the side while Veronica took the center position in the front row.

"R-H-S, we are the best," they chanted while positioning their arms in various directions. Veronica led the front of the group, waving her pom-poms and then shifted back into the center. Betty, on the other hand, moved in with a group of four girls for a flyer routine. She was previously the flyer, but had since became the main base after her injury. Betty held Midge as she lifted her up to prepare her to take flight. As she lifted her up she felt a slight pain in her ankle and winced as Midge struck her pose.

"Riverdale Fight, Riverdale Bite."

Betty grip slipped and Midge could not get enough moment in her aerial, resulting in a rustled formation amongst the girls caught off guard in her group.

"Ms. Cooper, be careful. Not paying attention like that could result in a serious injury for your teammates," the coach called out.

"Are you sure you're okay Bets? Maybe it would be better if you sit out this week to rest your ankle?" Veronica said.

"I'm fine Veronica," Betty replied, trying to conceal her frustration.

"If it happens again, how bout you call it a night and get some rest," Coach Hebert told her.

Betty merely gave a blank stare with a slight nod and the team continued their routine for the day. Betty was able to get through the rest of practice, her mind more preoccupied by the rest of her night then the pain of her ankle. Adrenaline had kicked in and she was mostly numb to it.

"Alright girls, finish up your stretches and then you can go for the day. We'll meet again tomorrow morning at 7." Betty promptly got up and got her bag placed that was placed alongside the bleachers.

"Do you think she's gotten full of herself. Like what business did she have coming on what you did" Midge asked quietly while Veronica was talking to the coach.

"I don't think it's that. I just feel like the coach puts pressure on her to be the leader," replied Betty.

Midge furrowed her brow. "Or maybe it's Reggie. He's been a real hothead lately. The dude won't shut up in Algebra II. Not to mention, his dad probably isn't doing her any favors."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, I think since her dad has come back, she's feels she is the belle of the ball. I mean think about it, she's basically the princess now. All these new developments, business... all here because of her."

"I don't think it's her, but his dad. Apparently her father is having one of his former company heads run for Mayor. He's essentially going to be a cat's paw," Nancy mentioned, nearby the two girls.

"Oh don't be so hard on him. He seems nice enough when I met him and he's helped out Archie's dad considerably." Betty's face grew cold as she finished saying that.

"How has Archie been? Moose told me he was..."

"How's this season of _Bring it On_ coming on? Or better yet, _Hellcats._ Although most people don't remember that because most CW shows are garbage," Kevin interrupted Midge.

"Always with the pop-culture references, Kevin. I wonder how you have time to keep track of them all," Nancy rolled her eyes.

"Model UN just got out. We're having our big conference this December. Won't be much time for that soon."

"Yeah, we can sympathize there Kevin. Anyway, Nancy and I are going to check out the end of the boy's football practice before we leave and catch up with Moose. We'll see you guys later." Midge and Nance walked out the exit door of the gymnasium while Kevin and Betty went out the indoor exit through the hallway.

"So how has Poland been faring at the meetings? I know you wanted to be Ireland, but I guess we can't have everything, can we?" Betty said as they circumvented through the hallway.

"Poland's good. Poland is tough. We don't like to be bothered with, and no one really bothers us. It's a real easy job on my end. Just got to get the other nations to agree."

"Good thing you weren't Ireland. My name is very Anglo-Saxon and our ancestors would have..." Betty paused, realizing the actual reason for the origin of her name. This was still hard to take in sometimes.

"You know, I bet your grandfather did not chose that name out of thin air. You should look into or something and see why he chose it. Maybe it was an old maiden name or something," Kevin said apologetically.

As they exited the school, Veronica caught up behind them.

"Hey guys, I didn't know if you heard but my family is having a luncheon for Mr. Gregerson, the new mayoral candidate. You guys our invited."

"Oh jeez, I'm in Model UN, I don't need any more political drama in my life..." Kevin said in a deadpan style.

"It's 'local politics'. Nothing that should be too controversial in a town that already has enough controversy as it is. Well, at least since I got here."

"Since I got here is the key part," Kevin retorted. Veronica guffawed slightly.

"Cool it with the snark, Kevin. So can I count on you guys to be there this Sunday. It'll be fun, I promise."

"We'll be there, V. You can count on us," replied Betty. Veronica giddily put her hands together and said goodbye as she went back to her car.

"You know, with all that money, you'd think she can do you a favor and fly out Archie to the event," Kevin said.

"I'm sure Archie would be thrilled by the prospect of seeing Veronica again," Betty said tenuously.

"I'm not sure if you're serious or not, but I'm sure the company heads will love being introduced to Reggie Mantle. Hiram is probably wishing she was still with Archie."

As they reached the parking lot, there was a slight breeze that was very bracing. The luxury of walking outside without a jacket was ending and the nights got darker faster. It made everything more intimidating. Betty felt a buzz from her phone and reached inside her bag to read it. Her becomes vexed.

"Hey Kevin, I don't think I'm going to be able to make the luncheon."

"Why is that?"

"My mom is running for Mayor."

A/N: I'm back duhnuhnuhnuhn. I'm not sure if I was ever going to continue this story, but this negative comment on one of my other stories motivated me to write for. I really try my best to make these interesting but sometimes it always doesn't come out perfect because of my ADHD. Instead of getting too angry about it, I want to write more consistently. I probably won't be able to update the story as often as I did in the past, but I have a lot of story ideas I'm excited to include in this.

Overall, I enjoyed writing this series as a fanfiction because I think it has a lot of potential but the show's direction is not exactly how I want it to be. I would prefer it to be more grounded and have less focus on the murder mystery aspect and more storylines that come naturally from character's relationships. So, in many ways, this fanfic is wish fulfillment. Either way, I appreciate all the support I've gotten. Hope you all enjoy the second half of the story!


	18. Making a Mayor

What do you mean I can't raise the taxes by two whole percentage points. Did you not listen to my proposal to give tax breaks to middle income families that are married."

"I'm just saying, that's pretty high. When you factor in the state tax and the..."

"I'm telling you, if you don't want the town to expand a cosmopolitan cesspool, the taxes need to be raised if you want to stop the influx of guppies and keep the whole small town we know and love." Alice hung up the phone and exhaled.

"I think he got the message, mom." Polly said while sitting across from her in a business chair. Alice's entire building had been converted to a campaign headquarters, with all the writers being transferred over to the Mantle's newspaper, _The Riverdale Gazette_ , with the exception of one young writer, Davis, who had stayed on to be the Cooper's campaign manager. Alice's decision was to sell her paper to Rick Mantle was reluctant but necessary. There was no way she could still be a member of the press while running for office for obvious reasons.

"We got enough signatures to register and I sent the list out to registrar. Now we just need to get the campaign signs and look for local endorsements. Did you call Betty to see if she's interested in making a few trips with us?" Alice asked.

Polly merely shrugged. "I haven't talked to her all day, I'm not sure what she is up to." Alice and Polly momentarily worked on some materials before Betty came in ablaze.

"When exactly were you planning on telling me you were going to run for a political office. That's a pretty big deal, and requires being in the spotlight a lot. I've had enough of that recently."

Alice paused before answering her. She felt slightly guilty for putting this pressure on Betty but knew bigger things were at stake. "Ah yes, after the whole "Golden Girls" articles came out on the National News covering you and Polly after what you did to save the city. The freshest image people have of our family. An All-American family with two beautiful daughters: A strong single-mom and a town hero."

"So are you going to campaign vicariously through me?" Betty asked, nearly yelling.

"Ofcourse not, you don't have to do a damn thing. Although I will say that we don't have the campaign funds that Hiram's lapdog has. We'll need to get the campaign funds, and I think out of the area funds from people who loved that story will be beneficial," replied Alice.

"Betty, mom just wants to conserve the city. You love Riverdale and she wants to keep it the way it is without Hiram changing it for good," Polly chimed in.

"What happened to your company then? I'm assuming you can no longer publish anything because that would show a lot of bias. What happens if you lose?" Betty asked.

"I sold the paper to the Mantle's. We still have partial shares and I can I work there if I don't assume office."

"Why us though? Why did you have to run against Mr. Gregerson? Is it some sort of power play to boast your own ego..."

"Betty!" Polly angrily interrupted before Alice put a hand on Polly's shoulder and interceded on her behalf.

"Betty do you remember when you got angry that we had to stay late at school when you were a kid because I was doing PTA meetings? When we were the only ones decorating up the school for education week? It was because I knew no one else would. I waited to see if anyone would run against Hiram Lodge's agenda and no one came out. I know what has to be done and I have some firsthand how towns like Riverdale become something else when outside forces change it. I don't want to run, but I have to. For the sake of you, our family and everything you love in Riverdale.

"We're going to go campaigning and ask for some local endorsements. Do you want to come?" Polly asked feebly.

"You know, it's funny. I had originally made plans for the luncheon held by the Lodge's Saturday. I guess I'll have to cancel."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Polly answered. "Like mom said, this is completely optional. You can still hang out with Veronica with no awkwardness between you."

"I'm sure you can guarantee that Pol, but sure. Where to first?"

"Pops of course. Mom said gaining the support of local businesses will be the heart and soul of us winning," Polly answered lightly.

"And you think Pops is eager to enter the foray of political mayhem."

"No, but we're going to convince him otherwise. Let's get moving," Alice coerced. The three of them entered their car and went on without conversation until Betty piped in about ten minutes in the car ride.

"So how does Dad feel about all of this?" she asked in a tone that hinted she had an idea.

Alice's figure remained the same and calmly answered: "He's okay with it. It allows him more time to work in his auto-shop. He might even pursue it full-time now. Another summer internship to put on your resume," Alice answered. _She is trying to find a way to wrangle me out of this._

The three later arrived at Pop's and saw the eponymous shop owner washing his hands and brandishing a small towel.

"Ladies, lovely to see all three of all the Cooper women here for some dinner. Where is Hal?" he asked in a jovial mood.

"Still at the shop. But we'll never stop being loyal customers to you." Pop's grinned and Alice knew this was the time to pull the trigger the question. "It's also why we were asking from a small favor from you." Pop's face looked puzzled and Alice saw that Betty looked annoyed but did not care.

"We were hoping you could endorse me as a Mayor and maybe even profile you in an advertisement to show how it would be advantageous to your business. Fully compensated by us of course."

"And if I said no, would you still be loyal customers," Pops laughed uneasily. "I actually already had an offer for an endorsement by a former employee and I said no. I don't want to get involved in political drama."

 _Hermione Lodge_ , Alice knew right away. _Trying to steal the local figures from my side. Not going to happen._ "Pop's I'm just going to take a gander here and say you're not someone who really follows the news a lot, and that's fine. I'm sure you're a busy man who just wants to have a breather after long days of work. But I'm going to be honest with you right now. If Samuel Gregerson is elected Mayor, he will just allow green light more and more land developments for businesses to come in, and probably a few of them will be restaurants. Your restaurant is currently to go-to-option for most Riverdale residents and is danger of facing competition."

"Well maybe competition is a good thing. It'll put more pressure on me to perform better," he said smiling.

"Perhaps, but just think about the people moving in. Gregerson will be attracting bigger businesses whose employees are not looking for a small town kind of feel restaurant. These will be uppity restaurants; country clubs maybe."

"But I'll stay have the same people still coming here like they usually do. More people moving in won't change that."

"That's where you're wrong though. When things here irreparably change, the old residents will leave. Riverdale is going to change, and for the worst."

Pop's stood there idly with an unsure look on his face. Tattering his fingers alongside the counter, he finally made up his mind. "Ok, I don't see why it wouldn't hurt. When do you want to film the commercial?"

Alice collected his information and felt more confident as they had dinner there. It was a fairly busy crowd that night, and one particular visitor caught Polly's attention.

"Mom, there's Sheriff Keller. Do you think we should ask him for an endorsement?" her oldest daughter asked.

"You're getting the hang of this Polly. I actually think it would be beneficial if Betty went with me since he thinks so highly of her after what she did this year."

"Fine. I'll go." Betty said curtly and quickly got up which forced Alice to hastily follow her.

"Ms. Cooper, Mrs. Cooper. Good to see you two this evening."

"Same to you Mr. Keller. And it's good happenstance that we saw you here. We've been meaning to ask you..."

"The answer's yes," Sheriff Keller interrupted. "Kevin called me about it and at first I was besides myself, but I think you would do a nice job. Plus, I owe it to your daughter in how she helped me protect the city. Absolutely I will endorse you."

"Thank you Sheriff, I definitely won't be giving you any stand down orders, that's for damn sure. This town is going to have to law and order, whether all the degenerate kids like it or not." Sheriff Keller grinned in response, as if he was almost keeping back a slight guffaw and nodded his head lightly.

"My only condition is that I want a gratuity discount when I visit your husband's auto shop," he joked. The Coopers said their thanks and goodbyes to the Sheriff and left the restaurant not too long after.

"Just one more visit tonight, do you think you guys could handle it," Alice asked as they got in the van.

"Who else are we asking for, Weatherby?" Betty asked.

"No, although that's not a bad choice either. Someone who represents the blue collar class of Riverdale," responded Alice.

Betty nearly gasped. "Mom, you really think Fred Andrews would be open to endorsing you? After all the history between you guys?"

"No, he probably wouldn't for me. But he might for you. You're going to have to convince him. He'll listen to you."

Betty gritted her teeth before letting out an exasperated, "Fine." The three of them arrived near the Fred's apartment complex about fifteen minutes later. It was about a four story complex that was situated right near an occupational therapy center. The area used to be a small cut out in an otherwise highly forested area, but the Lodge Industry had recently bought the land and was developing around the area, much to the chagrin of Alice. These feelings were reinforced as she felt the musky air as she exited their car.

"Do you just want me to go up?" Betty asked as they approached the apartment.

"No, it would look bad on me if I at least didn't approach him. I think at the very least I should say hi," Alice said.

"He'll be fine, he doesn't seem like someone who would hold a grudge." Three three Cooper girls entered through the apartment's hallway that was conveniently on the first floor and found his room off to the side. Polly knocked on the door and Fred opened it after a couple of minutes.

"Alice... Polly... Betty, come to raid my fridge this evening? I mean why else why i be ambushed at a time like this," he joked.

"I could go for a capri sun right now," Polly interjected in an unorthodox manner. Alice rolled her eyes and saw Fred twitch his shoulder. He was using a cane still after being months removed from the surgery.

"Well, I just finished my exercises for the day. I suppose I could use a little chit chat. Archie said he's busy so no Skype call for me tonight. Never good to be too idle."

Fred went toward the fridge while Betty and Polly sat on the sofa. Fred's apartment was pretty small; a bedroom complex with a very small kitchen. "I don't have capri sun but I do have orange juice if that suits you. Anyone else want a drink."

"I'll have some as well," Betty answered and Alice also took up his offer.

"How is your physical therapy been going Fred," Alice asked slightly nervously.

"It's been going good. The leg exercises were a bit painful at first but mostly I've got the hang out of it now."

"That's great," Polly chimed in, sipping on her glass of orange juice.

"Sooo... why visit me now. I'm curious because we haven't really talked much and my instincts are telling me that a favor is needed."

"Fred, I'm running for Mayor and I want you to endorse me." Alice said plainly.

Fred looked down and then back up. "Well... wow, I was not expecting to hear that, especially since I knew you had been communicating with Hiram Lodge before I ever did. I figured you would support his backed candidate, but hey, stranger things have happened."

Alice gulped. She knew what exactly Fred was referring to and knew it was a lost cause.

"Hey, mom, Polly, do you mind if I talk to Mr. Andrews privately?" Betty asked.

"If that's ok with him, sure." Fred nodded and Alice and her daughter exited the apartment and waited outside.

"Dad texted me. He asked if he we already went out to dinner. Did you not tell him we were going?" Polly asked.

"No he knew, I just didn't mention Pop's. I said I would tell him later but I forgot. It was a real stressful day today."

"Mom, are you sure you can handle this then? The real job is going to be ten times harder."

"I know, so better buckle down and get used to it."

Alice say Polly look at her in a pensive manner. "Hey mom, about Pop's... Wouldn't his taxes go up higher? I don't think he's married and he probably makes a decent amount..."

"We'll worry about it later. There are some campaign promises you keep, and some you might have to compromise on later."

The two of them waited outside for about ten more minutes, staying mostly quiet and only remarking on the weather, which was getting progressively colder. Betty finally came out with a blank look on our face.

"He said he'll think about it," Betty said.

Alice brushed the hair out of her eyes as the wind blew. "Well, I told you it was worth a shot."

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I've been real busy with my personal life and I'll try to have the next Chapter out sooner.


	19. Story Update

I am sorry to announce that I have decided to put this story on Hiatus. I had plans on completing an additional 12 or so chapters but I find I no longer enjoying watching the show and no longer have the passion to write within its universe, knowing its vision is extremely different from mine. If I ever rediscover my enjoyment of the show, I may finish the story, but as of now I do not think that will happen anytime soon.

I greatly appreciate all the reviews and support for the story and hoped you enjoyed its ups and downs. This was my first fic, and I plan on writing for other fandoms if you wish to check other stories of mine. I never imagined getting this much support and for that I find myself very thankful.

TTFN


	20. The Final Countdown

The cold air deepened and the wind felt thicker. Veronica gripped the reins of her horse and guided him around her backyard (or what you could call a backyard.) The Lodge's Estate had five acres in total, with plenty of room for the family's pool and horse stable. It was also spacious enough to host the luncheon for Frederick Gregerson, Hiram's former CEO and the President of Ionas Technology who was now vying for Mayor of Riverdale.

Veronica finished her morning ride and led her horse back to the stable. "I'll be back Asher," Veronica said sweetly while petting her horse's auburn mane. She had the horse since I child but briefly had to say goodbye to him when her family's assets were all seized. Hiram had to pay an exorbitant fortune to get him back from the new owner.

Veronica went through the family's garden that was was complimented by a stone path paved on a short hill up the Lodge Mansion's. Their estate had three floors, but each were much larger than the typical Riverdale home. Veronica took off her riding boots and pushed through the sliding door, seeing two familiar figures conversing in the kitchen.

"Veronica, I was just about to go out and get you. How was your ride?" Hiram asked in his polo and golf hat.

"Oh, just fine. I think Asher is getting a little anxious in this weather. How was your golf game boys?"

"The greens are unbelievable. I was able to make a couple birdies because off how the ball just glided across the green. The course is almost as good as Pebble Beach..." Reggie chimed in, having spent the morning golfing with Veronica's father.

"Almost as good, son, I think you might want to change your rankings if you want to go golfing again," Hiram said nudging him in the arm. "Anyway, Veronica, I was going to ask you a favor. Your mother was wondering if you could welcome the guests and show them the way to the back where the tables are going to be set-up. I'm sure Reggie will be willing to help you."

"Hell, I'll even be a chauffeur," Reggie answered.

"Please don't. Your father told me about his remorse about having to trade in the BMW for a 1970 Chevy Chevelle. Let's just say our guests will be driving cars that are much newer than that." said Hiram with a faint sternness in his voice.

"Nice subtle classism daddy," Veronica chided. Reggie rolled his eyes and could not resist a retort. "It's okay to be rich."

Hiram smirked. "I think you'll fit in real well with the people coming today. I have to make a few calls. I'll let you two get ready." Hiram left the kitchen area and headed over to his personal office, leaving an annoyed Veronica with Reggie.

"It seems like you two have really hit it off. At least better than my last boyfriend. Since when you have two become best buds?"

"Since when did you become a SJW? Why do you always give him a hard time?"

"You haven't been around him your whole life Reggie. I'm sure he wasn't talking about all his past mishaps, when he wasn't talking about me behind my back."

"Talking about you? We didn't talk about you at all? It was mostly just sports and stuff we read in Business Insider." Reggie began looking antsy, while Veronica's face lightened.

"I'm going to take a shower and get ready, I'll see you in a bit."

"Oh, I'll actually be down in the basement seeing up the speaker system. Your mom texted me and asked if I could do that."

"I guess you've become part of the family, Reggie Mantle," Veronica smiled, walking up the stairs. It took a bit of an effort, as the stairs winded up and lead up to a balcony that traversed across a significant part of the second story. Veronica's room was at the far end and included a large walk-in closet and a bathroom that was to close to the size of a master one. Veronica got showered and dressed herself in a black dress and donned the pearls around her neck. She walked out and found her mother and Smithers carrying the hors d'oeuvres through the front toward the kitchen area.

"Honey, can you help me set up the patio with the silverware I set aside. We are running a little late," Hermione called from downstairs. Her voice had a bit of tenuous feel to it.

Veronica heeded her command and took a large basket down with all the utensils and napkins down the deck and unto the patio. The tables where adorned with purple clothes and silver plates. On each adjacent were the security detail: Andre, the new assistant and Tony, who notably saved Archie from the Serpents.

"Good day Ms. Lodge," Tony nodded toward her. "You look very nice this afternoon. Are you going to give an opening address? They could use a little spark from you."

"No, Tony. My mom feels I'm better in a capacity where I must bat my eyelashes and welcome everyone in."

"Well, not everyone has that skill. No reason to be ashamed about it." The red haired security guard blushed while her boyfriend came outside dragging out the sound system.

"Babe, your family has all the state of the art stuff. I wish I could play with this with my bass guitar. The sound quality would be squeaky clean."

"Don't worry Reggie, I'm sure you can schedule a jam out session with my dad if you asked nice enough," she replied, rolling her eyes. Soon enough, the guests came rolling in, with many wearing similar to their Sunday attire, while others looking almost decadent with some of the color schemes they wore. One man in particular, Mr. Ritter, was dressed in an orange suit with a neutral vest, while his much younger wife wore a purple jumpsuit.

"Ms. Lodge, you look quite dapper. You've grown into quite the women,' he said in a strong southern accent, much to the chagrin of his wife. Mr. Ritter had inherited a a large car dealership from his father and had done business with Hiram in the past. To Veronica's surprise, a few familiar figures were in attendance. Principal Weatherbee came in wearing nice attire, as did Moose and Midge.

"I just came for the grub," Moose said sarcastically.

"He just needs his calories for playoffs," Midge smirked. Before long, most of the guests were gathered in the patio. The man of the hour, Mr. Gregerson, finally arrived about five minutes before the event was supposed to start. He came with his wife and someone who appeared to be both his driver and security detail.

"Veronica, you've grown up so much," his wife, Laura, called out to her and eagerly gave her a hug. "I don't know if you remember me but I remember seeing you were a little one."

"Oh, I think I can vaguely remember." Frederick Gregerson also walked over with a commanding presence, yet not one that was intimidating. His dark complexion matched well with his wife's curly brown hair.

"Ms. Lodge, quite fortuitous to see you again." He took her hand and kissed it. "You have a beautiful house. I really hope you appreciate the work your parents put in the build you something like this. I know how hard they work firsthand. I remember them telling me how all they wanted was for you was a bright future and a comfortable home. I'm glad to see it's come to fruition. Be nice to them."

Veronica nodded and led them out to the patio. She was surprised that she had not seen Betty yet, nor Kevin. Surely her best friend would have made it by now.

"Frederick Gregerson, it's like you haven't changed in years." Hiram reached for his hand and brought him into an embrace.

"And you've only gotten more ruthless," he gave him a slight nudge on the shoulder. "It seems you've built yourself a nice little foundation here back in your old neck in the woods."

Hiram smiled. "Come, have something to eat before the speeches start."

Veronica took a table with Reggie, Moose and Midge while her parents conversed with the Gregersons at the table closest to the sound stage. As she and Reggie scooped up some veggies at the catering table, an older man holding a wine glass approached to two of them.

"Ms. Lodge, Mr. Mantle, Wally Wemberton, pleased to meet you." Reggie slightly guffawed at him announcing his name, but Veronica stepped on his foot so he she would not look impolite in front of one her father's associates.

"Mr. Wemberton, my mother told me about you. You used to run an Art Gallery up in New York. She said she visited there all the time."

"I don't mean to be trite, but isn't Riverdale a fairly small place for a niche market like that?" Reggie asked.

Mr. Wemberton looked around suspiciously and whispered to the teenagers. "You know, I'm going to let you kids on a little secret. I know Mr. Gregerson from our mutual connection with Hiram, and he told me the real reason he wanted to come to Riverdale was of the rumor that the famous _Storm on the Sea of Galilee_ painting in Rembrandt might be in hiding here in Riverdale. You know, the one stolen from Massachusetts. He used to buy paintings all the time from my gallery and believes that the Serpents might have stumbled upon a long time ago and are still hoarding it. Problem in that theory though is why wouldn't they have sold it by now. But hey, too each his own."

Veronica looked on confused while Reggie looked curious. The two looked over and saw that Veronica's father had taken the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to the Lodge family Luncheon. Before Frederick takes the stage, I want to welcome everyone to my family's outing for the day. I would also like to give a special thanks to my wife Hermione, my daughter Veronica and her boyfriend Reggie for helping put this on, as well as Smithers, Andre and Tony for also assisting. With that said, I think this meeting is important because Riverdale is changing. As is America. In order to give what is best for its residents, I feel we must adapt to the trying economic changes and open our doors to new economic opportunities that will help both new and old residents alike. Many of the men and women also came from small businesses that grew out of a small town, so what better way to enrich the spirit of entrepreneurship by inviting old successes to a small but up and coming town. Please give it up for Frederick Gregerson, my former business partner and President of Ionas Technology."

The visitors politely clapped as the stoic mayoral candidate took the stage. Veronica had just realized that Betty was no where to be seen. She was so preoccupied that she forgot about her whereabouts. She texted her once again and added another text to what was mounting into a bunch of unanswered messages.

"Good afternoon Riverdale. After talking to a few of you here, I can feel that this community is going to be very welcoming and be a great place for my family. I see a spirit of ambition here and I think that will play will into Riverdale's future. As many of you know, Hiram is planning on developing new Private-Public Partnerships that will create many businesses, both small and large, into Riverdale. While I could bore you with all the boring details and political jargon, I'm instead going to tell a story about my childhood that I think will go well with today's circumstances. When I was a kid, my brother decided we wanted to have a paper route, yet those jobs were becoming more and more scarce. My brother and I decided to start..."

A booming sound came from the speakers. _Dun Dun Dun. Dun Dun Dun_. Veronica realized what was going on and who was behind it. She looked at him angrily.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, there appears to be some technical difficulties." Hiram rushed to the stage to fix the speakers but could not figure out how to turn off the sound.

"Mr. Mantle, can you help me with this?" Hiram called him over. Hiram's face looked red as he tried to looked dignify while _The Final Countdown_ blasted in the background. Several of the guests were guffawing while others looked a bit taken aback. Before he could let it go on any later, he yanked the cord and turned off the sound system.

After a much abridged speech, the party continued on without much ruckus. Veronica made sure to confront Reggie away from the party by pulling aside in their basement.

"Reggie, I am really sick of your immaturity lately. There is a time and place for pranks and this was not the right time for it. This party meant a lot to my dad and you just made a mockery of it."

"Oh come on, he'll be fine. If anything, more people will be talking about now that something actually interesting happened besides just some boring political speech. By the way, you thinking of going down to the Serpent's Cove to cash in on that treasure. That thing has to be worth millions."

"Oh I have no place of visiting that hell hole again. I doubt Betty would either..." She had forgotten this whole time about her friend not being there. Veronica checked her phone, realizing she had not checked it for hours. As she opened a new message, her eyes widened.

A/N: Ok, so I had half of this completed before my hiatus, so I felt like finishing. Does this mean I'm coming back from my hiatus? I don't know.

Also worth mentioning is how I find it hilarious that the show has taken on a similar storyline with the special mayorial election. Have some writers been checking out my fic? Probably not, but it's still hilarious in retrospect. I also recall Jughead referring to his new story as "Lovecraftian" like I did. Probably just all coincidence though. Either way, thanks for all the support and have a good St. Patrick's Day.


	21. Home Improvement

Fred walked tenderly up the stairs with his cane. The weather had gotten nasty and he could feel barometric pressure in his leg. It was the first time in a while that Fred went onto site, even though he was not there to actually do labor. A tenant of the downtown center was moving out and needed some questions answered about renovation.

"Fred, good to see you again. How's the back coming?" Samm Wilkins, the Andrew's family dentist, said as Fred limped into the building.

"Still on two feet. That's a lot more than many people can say," Fred answered, reaching out to shake his hand. "I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances. I can't believe you are closing down."

"Yeah, moving back to Minnesota to be closer with my grandkids. It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway, Hiram would have bought me out and shipped me out of here. No country for old dentists," he said chuckling.

Fred slightly grimaced and scanned around the building. There were still dental rooms but the office was barren of any decorations and only had a few notices pinned to a few doors. Fred remembered how colorful the building was in the 90's and now was startled to see how it changed.

"Can you show me where the squeaking is?" Fred said, surveying the office and feeling out the floor with his cane.

Samm furrowed his brow and pointed over to a spot by the waiting area. Fred walked over to and felt it squeak slightly.

"Pull up the rug and let me see the tile," Fred said while resting on the sofa as he watched the business owner do as he commanded.

Fred used his cane to trace the tile around its grout line and felt that the floor was not level.

"You have a deflection in the floor, do you have any idea how old this building is?"

"Old." Fred's eyes briefly diverted to the window where he saw snowflakes coming down, much to the chagrin of his leg.

"I would consider having a contractor doing a demolition under here and adjusting the joists underneath. The closer they are together, the less likely it will happen."

Samm rolled his eyes. "Dang it, Fred. You were supposed to tell me it was an easy fix. I'll only have to fork out a few extra thousand dollars that could have gone to my 401k."

"Even if it was a simple tile fix, that would cost a fortune as well. That's old tile so you would probably have to replace it. Time is money, but not always in the way you want it to be," Fred said apologetically.

"You're sounding more like your boss. Has hanging around him too much made him you an evil corporate overlord?" Samm said expecting laughter but only received a grin from Fred.

"You know, I can't say too much bad about him right now. Not that I'm not allowed to, but he's given me good coverage and his family was real nice to me when my son left. Especially their daughter, she's quite mature beyond her years."

"She's a real cutie, I heard your son was going out with her. Not bad to have in-laws who could pay for your son's tuition all the way through medical school, ay Fred?" Samm said slapping Fred on the knee, leading Fred to grimace in pain.

"They're actually not together anymore. My son actually is with our old next door neighbor's daughter now. Not that it's any business of mine..."

"How is Archie, by the way. I saw the last football game in Riverdale and didn't see him out there. Did he get hurt?"

Fred exasperated slightly, feeling slightly frustrated he had to explain the situation to another person. "He is actually with his mother now. I thought it would be for the best since I was a 'person of interest' earlier this year and thought it was best for his safety. He's good though, he's enjoying his new school a lot."

"That's great, I'm sure he's gotten attention of even more ladies. I heard he's a great guitar player too, just don't let him get in too much trouble," he said while once again nudging Fred, this time on the shoulder. Fred took that as a sign to exit and began walking toward the door before remembering something."

"Hey Samm, I know you're about to head out but do you have any lollies still?" Samm nodded and grabbed one from his cabinet and tossed it to Fred.

"Take care, Samm. I'm going to miss coming here. As much as I detested it, you made it better."

Samm's face lit up and nodded. "Well if Hiram's insurance is that great, maybe he'll let you fly out to Minnesota and..."

"Alright Samm, I'll let you go." Fred headed out of the building and began slowly walking down the building complex. The stairs were covered in ice so Fred went at a much slower than normal pace and braced the stair rail. His truck was parked right outside and Fred exhaled as he felt the warmth of his heater as he turned on the ignition.

Fred looked out the window and turned on his windshield wipers. Fred normally liked the snow but the feeling of loneliness was starting to taking a toll on him. He occasionally made trips to his office, but those were in limited capacity due to his rehab and even then he felt frustrated from his lack of ability to work. The Lodge's occasionally checked in on him, but he sometimes grew tired of their conversations as they were often more centered around themselves than something Fred really cared about. And then there was Archie. His son had skyped him the first few weeks while he was away, but there conversations soon became limited to a few phone calls during the weekends. Fred would often try to text him early in the day but they would sometimes go unanswered till much later in the day.

As Fred pulled out to his apartment complex, he saw a small blonde figure shivering by the door.

"Betty, how long have you been out here?" he asked while feeling her head. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just got here. I was wondering if you had maybe a few moments to talk," she said while her hands were in her pockets shaking from the cold.

"Uh, sure. Come on in." Fred opened the door and walked over to the fridge. His apartment wasn't in the shape that he wanted it be, with some laundry left out and the dishes in the washer, but he figured Betty did not mind given the circumstances.

"Do you want some more orange juice. Just stocked up on a bunch yesterday." Betty nodded and Fred poured a couple of glasses on the table.

There was momentary silence for a few seconds before Fred broke the ice. "So... what's bothering you," he said while gulping down some orange juice.

Betty rubbed her hands together before answering. "Oh, only just about everything. Where to begin? I feel everyone I know is against me or doesn't have my best interests. My mom just sold her business and basically jeopardized our financial stability. My dad is just going along with it, my sister thinks everybody is going to be ok when it isn't. My best friend is going to hate me when she finds out I didn't tell her my mom was going to run against her dad's ex-business partner. Her parents are going to hold a grudge against me and my boyfriend is so far away and I just want to..." she began to break down and cry.

Fred sat there stone faced, not sure how to counsel her. He put his arm around her shoulder and sat there quietly.

"Hey, don't worry about it, get it out kiddo," he said. He remembered sometimes counseling Archie in times of duress but this was uncharted territory for him as he never had a daughter.

"I just feel like no one is on my side, and it's just…" she began to sob a little harder. "Being by yourself just sucks. I really wish Archie was here."

"Yeah I do too," he said staring into space. "It gets a little quiet around my part he said," with a slight little laughter."

Betty looked at him with piercing inquiry. "Mr. Andrews, do you mind if I ask a bit of hard question. Forgive me if it's too personal, but I am a journalist after all," she said with a half-hearted laughter. "How do you get through each day knowing… a person you had known for a long time was someone different from how you thought they were?"

Fred exhaled and looked up. "Are you thinking of ending things with Archie?" he asked her.

"No, no, no, it's not that. I meant someone you grew up your whole life and found out they were completely different. How do you deal with that?" she said looking at him anxiously, her legs looking uneasy.

"Well to be honest, I don't know. Most of the people I grew up with seem mostly the same to me. When my wife and I got together, it was about discovering each other and we found out that there were parts of us that were just compatible. I sometimes wanted my space and she always wanted to manage everything. It's not that either of us were in the wrong, it just was incompatible, so it turned out okay. As for Archie, who knows how he will turn it out. Kids think their parents have a master plan for them and the truth of it is, we were just guessing the whole time. They should be good guesses, but everything is always up in the air."

"Well I think my parents have made a lot of horrible guesses. So much so I can say they already failed."

Fred grimaced. "Now why would you say that? Is your mom giving you a hard time?"

"Well, it's not necessarily my mom that's bothering me. She's predictably unpredictable with all her moral tirades and everything. But what's bothering me more is my dad is just taking a back seat in it all. She knows my mom is sometimes in the wrong but doesn't have the courage say so. He just seems like he's too afraid to get involved." Betty's voice began to waver and Fred rubbed her back a little more. He recalled his interaction with him at the bar the night and wondered if that was one of many examples of his overly lackadaisical nature.

"You know, Archie's mom sometimes got mad at me for being too hands off too. She was mad that she often had to play bad cop with Archie and I got to be the cool dad. Maybe us guys are just idiots," he said laughing in an attempt to placate her. "I'm sure he'll come around."

"But you haven't had a hands off approach on Archie. You were there for him when he got in trouble with Ms. Grundy and…"

"Him being with Ms. Grundy should have been prevented by me…" he interrupted her, reluctant to even have to bring that up again. "Thank goodness you were there to help sort himself out. You're a much better 'bring home to mom' type than someone who was old enough actually to be her mother."

Betty laughed and the features on her face began to lighten up. "I bet the Parent-Teacher Conference's would have been fun."

"You know the worst part was having to have 'that' conversation with him so early. The doctor talked to me about it after his first physical but I didn't think I'd have to… you too haven't… I won't need to have a conversation with Alice or Hal or…"

"Don't worry Mr. Andrews, you won't have to worry about that," she said, looking slightly embarrassed while also finding it funny as well.

"Well, that's good. Like I said, you are a huge improvement over the last one."

"You mean Veronica?" Betty asked.

"No, the one before her."

"Valerie?" Betty asked with a mischievous smile.

"Jezz, there have been so many I forgot about them all. Probably for the better. I could probably remember college football statistics from 1987 better than Archie's girlfriend total."

"Are you still shamelessly rooting for Penn State? I know New York has no good football teams but I think you should join our family's side and jump on the Ohio State bandwagon."

Fred snickered. "If you knew anything about the history of that rivalry, you know that is like switching from being a Yankees fan to a Red Sox fan."

"Hey, do you think you might wanna order a pizza and watch the game in?" Betty said, her face fully lightened up.

"If your folks are ok with you staying here a little later, I don't see why not. Should be a good game," he smiled, heading over to his laptop to order the pizza. Unbeknownst to Fred, a bunch of unanswered messages were left on his phone and would not be answered till much later.

A/N: Yep, the hiatus is officially over. Let's just say I have a lot more free time than I did earlier so I plan on continuing this story more frequently. Not sure if people remember reading this, but it's back and I have big plans coming ahead. Let me know what you think!


	22. Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game

Alice stood before a crowd of people inside the Riverdale Town Hall. It was the first debate before the election and she was flanked by two men each with their own respective podiums. Alice prepared her own notes that her daughter had helped organized and peered into the crowd of townspeople whose eyes seemed unfriendly to her. Her daughter Polly served as the one exception, smiling from the front row as the moderator began to speak.

"Welcome to the Riverdale 2017 Mayoral Special Election Debate. We will have each of the candidates give a brief introduction before we move into questions with an open debate format. Mr. Gregerson, if you will start us off."

The brown haired businessmen shuffled his papers together before speaking into the mic: "Good evening Riverdale. I just want to thank everyone for coming out to see this tonight and be out to witness what I think will be a new beginning for Riverdale. I come to this town as a newcomer but wish to adopt its ideals and make it the best the version of itself. I remember when I was just a young man and lived in a small-town only to enter the big city and pursue the American Dream. Tonight I hope to explain to everyone how I will let that dream be given to you."

An applause erupted of about half the audience and Alice exhaled as the next candidate spoke. She did not really pay attention to his speech as she was instead rehearsing of what she would say in her notes and going over her platform positions. From what she could hear from his speech, it seemed rather mundane and was not very focused on a portion and seemed to just be catering to multiple viewpoints. Alice exhaled as the moderator turned to her.

"Last but not least, we have Ms. Alice Cooper."

"Well, I thought it was tradition to have ladies go first," she replied, resulting in the audience responding with laughter.

Alice coughed slightly before beginning her speech. "Good evening ladies and gentleman, you guys may know me as Alice Cooper, the angry helicopter mom who gets into other people's business." The audience was shocked, with some guffawing and others gasping at her comments.

"I have lived in Riverdale my whole life and plan to continue to for the rest of my days. When you hold a baby in your arms here and imagine their whole life growing up here: Them driving down the driveway in a mini coop, their first communion, their first dance. It all stays with you and the town serves as a very important back-drop. But to keep it that way, we have to take into account some things. Many passers-by come by and love treating themselves to some Pop's Burgers and Milkshakes. Adding more corporate businesses here won't help that. There and places for those kinds of businesses and our town isn't one of them. Having a never-ending list of housing developments won't help us remember the times we have with our kids; it will only make us feel like overcrowded fish in an already small pond. If I am elected mayor, I will ensure that the Riverdale you know and love will stay the same."

A decent applause erupeted throughout the auditorium with Polly standing-up for her own applause.

"Thank you very much Ms. Cooper. Now we will have the debate round with our topics tonight focusing on infrastructure, criminal justice and town-related cultural events. We will have a hand-picker member of the audience ask a question related to the topic. Mr. Harper, if you would like to go first."

A stocky man with a goatee took the mic and began speaking into the microphone that was adjacent to the aisle closest to the stage. "Good evening everyone, my name is Bob Harper and I work as a contractor here at Riverdale. Mrs. Cooper, you said you wanted to restrict the amount of businesses coming in, but for someone like me, who has also lived here my whole life, that hurts my paycheck. New businesses and housing developments would be great for someone like me. So how is it that you plan on stopping businesses from opening here and what is your rationale for that?

"Ok for future reference, I ask our volunteers to ask a questions that is not aimed at a particular candidate but rather a more general…"

"It's okay, I can take this one," Alice interrupted the moderator who was interceding on Bob's question. "Well I will say that the business and housing developments will be limited based on environmental protections and incentivizing the farmers here not to sell their lands by lowering property taxes. I will mention the local Environmental Protection Agency has endorsed me and I have many volunteers participating in the local duck's unlimited. As far as your personal situation goes, I think there will be plenty of other opportunities for you to commute and find opportunities in other nearby communities such as Greendale and Midville," Alice finished, feeling confident in her answer.

"But travel costs money and time. You know that would be less beneficial for me?"

 _I wonder if The Lodges's have plants in the audiences,_ Alice thought. "Well Bob, there are other small towns that will be having an explosion in development, such as some in Texas or Virginia. To be brutally honest, maybe Riverdale isn't the right place for the business you want to conduct and it might be best for you to move."

The crowd gasped with some audience members even booing and muttering agitated responses under their breath. Bob rolled his eyes and Alice could see Luke was smiling and that Matt, the younger mayoral challenger, was laughing.

"Who are you, Thanos? Do you want to systematically end the expansion of the world? Your plans seem similar," Matt, the young mayoral, coaxed at her.

"Oh shut up, Matt. I don't need a recent college grad who has barely any life experience to lecture me on how everything is supposed to work around here."

The moderator looked flustered, as Alice and Matt began going at it. "Guys, I want to remind everyone this is not a cross examination period right now. Mr. Gregerson, I will let you respond and give your ideas for how infrastructure will play out."

"Thank you. Mr. Harper, I would like to address your concerns by saying that under my plan, you will consistently have new business with incoming residents. I think it is our duty as a town with great values to welcome in new people and let them take part in what our great town has to offer. New business and new tenants will constantly cycle in and I can promise you that you will consistently have new business and perhaps could expand on a business of your own and hire new people. As Alice said earlier, this place is great for families. There will be new park developments, new downtown malls that will forever enshrine memories for the citizens here."

Frederick was given a very large applause and Mr. Harper looked very pleased. Shortly afterwards Matt gave a very passé answer that did not touch any points. The second person was a women with strawberry blonde hair who looked to be in her early 30's.

"Hi my name is Laura Hershin and I am a mother of two. I am wondering what measures you will put into to ensure Riverdale is a safer community."

Matt began his answer, speaking in a very wavy tone. "Well I think one way to make it better is to legalize marijuana. Marijuana has been unfairly uncharacterized as a drug that has been made to have a bad reputation by parents… and uh— the media. If we legalize weed, that will stop stigmatizing criminals and the numbers of crime will go down. And we could also have more money for schools and law enforcement. Look I've been smoking weed for a long time and I have clearly shown no problems with logistic reasoning. Like this one time in college I was able too…"

"Ok that's enough," the moderator interrupted him, looking slightly annoyed. "Alice please give your response."

"Well I will say law enforcement and locking down crime is one of the pivotal reasons I am running. I will ensure we will have the proper funding for law enforcement to ensure they have proper equipment for defense and non-lethal detainment to lower the overall crime rates. I will institute an entrusted mentor system in our schools where teachers will volunteer as liaisons to students who are afraid to report on what is going to their friends and need a more trusted outlet who could operate in an authoritative manner. Also, there will be no more police stand downs and the Serpents will not be a criminal threat to our community."

"Oh that's rich, coming from you Alice," Frederick responded to her and Alice flared red in anger. "Were you not going to disclose to the rest of the audience you were part of the Serpents and lived in the detestable Southside that you want to raze to the ground."

"Raze to the ground, what the hell are you talking about Frederick? I never said anything about that? What exactly is your proposition for helping out the crime here?" Alice felt her heart sink a little bit.

"I like some of your ideas Alice but I just think it also hypocritical of you to preach to the audience when you have a less than stellar reputation. You have criminal connections and you don't really care about the well-being of students. You failed to report to the authorities a student-teacher relationship…"

The audience let out a sundry of emotions, some in outright shock and others believing that he was slandering her. Alice eyes pierced his like a condor. "You better stop right there, there is some very sensitive information right there and you can violate the privacy of a student."

Frederick looked back at her with a concerned look. "Not to worry, Alice. I reported her to the authorities and the identity of the student will remain out of the pubic. I did what you failed to do and I made the community safer. But I ask the audience right now if they could trust this woman knowing what she has done to the community."

The audience's screeches became almost unbearable and became a albatross of unsettling sounds that the moderator once again stepped in. "Alright everyone, I think we are actually out of time and this will actually the debate tonight… Very interesting viewpoints tonight and we will continue with a debate next week before the election comes in a few weeks. Thank you to all who showed up tonight." His voice was very tenuous as Alice walked off the stage and had to be escorted out by the police as someone townspeople began hurling profane insults and other epithets at her.

Polly walked behind her as they exited out of the door and heard the the word "sin" being thrown out in repeated unison. Polly looked at her stone faced, not showing any warmth to her at all. Alice already knew what she was going to say.

"How did Frederick possibly know about what happened? You weren't supposed to tell anyone. Why would you do that?" Polly asked fuming at her and pacing around the parking lot.

Alice took a moment to respond and almost had tears on our face. "Hermione said Fred Andrews was being a loose cannon and I thought by telling him it would grant us protection with the Lodge's. Hiram has more influence than anyone in this town combined and I did it to protect you guys…"

"Bullshit, mom. You shouldn't have done that to Fred or Archie. Thank goodness he didn't mention his name either. I can't believe you right now and I think that just killed whatever chances you had."

"Polly, what does that change with what I want to do for the town. You know you want the Riverdale I want other what he wants," Alice began saying frantically.

"I don't know what Riverdale you want because I don't what other skeletons you have in the closet." Polly walked away from her and headed to the car, with Alice knowing that it would be a very quiet car ride going back. She stood there bracing her jacket in the cold and wish she had gone to her other daughter's cheer performance at the regional division football championship.

A/N: Yeah that was a real bummer of a chapter, but I promise that everyone will probably like the next one much better. Any guesses to who you think will win the election? My bet is that it will be Matt.


	23. Touchdown

Betty stood in front of her locker and changed into her winter cheerleading outfit. Today was the Regional Finals and the winner of this game would get to play in the State Championship.

"Do you need help getting zipped up?" a familiar voice said behind her. Betty turned around and saw Veronica standing behind her, already fully dressed.

"That would be great actually," Betty said while turning around and allowing her to zip up her outfit.

"Big game tonight, huh?" Veronica said in a as matter of fact manner. Betty gulped and turned to faced her again.

"Veronica, I'm sorry for not telling you about my mom running for mayor. I was scared that you would be mad and that my mom would get nasty in the campaign and…"

Veronica's features looked relaxed. "Betty, it's okay. Whatever happens, I'll still be your friend. We're our own damn person and whatever crazy fights that might break out tonight… none of that will come between us," she said while holding both her hands up. "The only thing I can possibly think that could come between us is a boy,"Veronica added with a laughter.

"Heh, fat chance for me. And I think you and Reggie will turn out just fine." As Betty said that, Veronica had a bit of a disgruntled look on her face. The girls heard Coach Hebert's voice running through the locker room, telling them to meet outside the entrance of the school. Betty got her pom poms from her locker and herded up with the girls exiting the locker room and braced for the frigid December weather outside.

"Alright girls, let's head to our position," Coach Hebert called out as the girls lined up on the gravel behind the sidelines. The Riverdale players would be on the opposite side of the girls, much to the chagrin of the rival coach, who complained that the girls would serve as a distraction to his players. The girls began their chants while waving their pom poms before the school marching band came out and took a spot in the stands and played the school fightsong as the team marched out on the field. Reggie and Moose marched out in the front with their helmets and waved to the crowd while Coach Clayton trailed behind them.

To Betty's great shock, Josie McCoy was to sing the National Anthem. She had not seen her since her mother had stepped down from Mayor and had kept little contact with her since she graduated the previous year. After performing the national anthem, the team got ready for the kickoff and Betty and the rest of the squad began their routine.

 _Riverdale Bite, Riverdale Might_ they chanted while the Bulldogs took command of the ball to start the game. Reggie hiked the ball and completed a short pass to the receiver. Betty looked up in the sky and could feel small snowflakes falling onto the ground and shuddered as the weather grew colder.

 _Go Go Riverdale, Go Go Riverdale_. The Bulldogs running-back fumbled the ball and the Parkland Rangers picked it up and scored on the Bulldogs. The wind became gustier and the girls exaggerated their performance moves to simply stay warm. The winner of the game would get to play at the Jets Stadium in New York City; a prospect that excited Betty.

Not before long, the first quarter was over and the Bulldogs were behind the Rangers by 14 points. The second quarter proved inauspicious as well with Reggie throwing an interception and also getting leveled on the field after the Right Tackle gave up a sack. Veronica gasped afterwards, squealing at the refs to stop the game to make sure he was okay but Reggie merely retreated back to the sidelines. The Bulldogs went down another two touchdowns but Reggie was able to make-up ground by throwing a long touchdown to Frankie Valdez. Betty looked at the clock and realized it was just a few moments before halftime. She surveyed the stands of people and saw Fred Andrews in attendance, as well as Hiram and Hermione Lodge in attendance. Her father, Hal, also attended the game, with the two parents splitting responsibilities of the mayoral election and Polly supporting her in attendance. Even Jughead was in attendance, despite his despise of organized football.

The game finally reached halftime and the players and cheerleaders alike entered their respective locker rooms and salivated the 20 minutes or so they got to stay out of the cold. Betty sat on the bench rubbing her hands while Midge rubbed her back trying to stay warm.

"Alright girls, we've done this routine plenty of times, let's nail it one more time for Riverdale. It'll get the crowd excited and maybe it will rile up our boys," Veronica said sprinting up from a bench.

"I don't think it's going to be our night," Nancy called out.

"It's alright girls, we did our best, and I think you should all be proud with how you've been performed all season. Win or lose, it's been a win for us," Coach Hebert said to the girls. Betty's stomach flared up from the feeling of having to go back out there and perform in the cold. She wondered if this would be her final season and if she should just focus on school during her senior year.

"Alright girls, time to kick it up!" Veronica said jokingly as they exited the lockerroom and headed down the stairway and back into the football field. The girls performed their halftime routine to the crowd and did so flawlessly. Betty successfully caught Midge who served as the flier, and Veronica was able to finish the routine with three consecutive backflips. The crowd erupted after their performance and continued to do so as the football team ran back onto the field. _Alright, only about an hour and half of this and then I can go home and drink hot choclate_ , she thought and momentarily thought she saw Archie run back onto the field as she saw someone with the number 7. _I must be imagining things,_ she thought, knowing Archie was almost a thousand miles away.

The Rangers got the ball and Betty saw the player who looked like Archie take the linebacker spot. Ironically enough, numbers 7 got the sack and forced a fumble, leading the Bulldogs to takeover the ball. Even the announcers were confused who got the sack as he did not appear on the roster billing. Sure enough, he took over the running-back position, the same position that…

"Archie!" Betty called out, after seeing a strand of his red hair peak out from his helmet. All her hopes and dreams had come true and Archie Andrews was back in Riverdale. Reggie handed off the ball to Archie and he ran the ball 30 yards down in for a touchdown. The Riverdale side of the stands erupted in cheers and the school band began playing the _Superman_ theme. Archie was greeted with high-fives from everyone upon returning to the bench.

"It looks like Bulldog star, Archie Andrews, has returned to the team after a season long absence," the announcer pronounced through the speakers.

The crowd grew louder than Betty had ever heard before. After a few more plays, Archie intercepted a pass and took it in for another touchdown. Veronica bounced up and down from excitement. The team was now down only by two scores with Archie once again taking the linebacker position. Betty could not believe that the coach was going to play him on-both sides for the rest of the game, but Archie did not seem to be fatigued one bit. The Riverdale defense held them to a field goal and the Bulldogs once again took over at offense. This time Reggie passed it off short to Archie and he ran it across the field toward Rangers endzone. After a few more plays, Archie ran it on for a touchdown. The Bulldogs were now down by 10 with one more quarter to go.

 _Archie, Archie_ the crowd began to chant as the Bulldogs took over on defense and prevented them from scoring. The Bulldogs were able to kick a field goal and trailed only by one touchdown. With two minutes, the Bulldogs took over the ball. Reggie moved the team deep downfield with a pass to Frankie Valdez. One minute was left. Coach Clayton signaled for the team to keep throwing but Reggie was unable to complete any passes.

"Third down and 9 on the Parkland 35. The Bulldogs are going to need a miracle to be able to pull this one off," the announcer said.

Reggie hiked the ball and unexpectedly handed it off to Archie, even though a run-play would not cause the clock to stop. Archie filled in behind Moose, who shoved past multiple defenders to clear the way for Archie. A few defensive backs were closing in on Archie, who had a narrow gap to reach the endzone. Archie dove in the narrow gap and touched the pylon with the ball. Touchdown.

Betty and the rest of the team were jumping up and down and waving their poms, matching the euphoria from the crowd. The Bulldogs still needed to score an extra point to tie up the game. What they did next was even more unexpected.

"It looks like the Bulldogs are going for a two-point conversion. Extremely risky decision in this stage of the game. If they score however, they win the game."

Reggie took the snap under center and handed it off to Archie who ran it straight in for the two-point conversion.

"Riverdale wins! Riverdale wins!"

Streamers went everywhere as the crowd roared in cheers and chanted _Archie, Archie._ Betty sprinted out to the field as Archie was hugged by his teammates. When he saw his girlfriend run on to the field, he moved away from his teammates, took off his helmet and pulled her in for an embrace.

"Archie, how did you… I don't even care," she said laying her head on his shoulder.

"I would have told you earlier Betty, but I was so busy…"

"No, don't apologize. This was the greatest surprise I have ever experienced." Upon saying that, Archie moved his head down to kiss her. The crowd erupted in more cheers with a few wolf whistles mixed in but neither of them cared.


	24. All the Way Home I'll be Warm

Betty opened up the windows of her van as the two Riverdale students drove by a cheering crowd on the street composed of fellow students, parents, younger children and the elderly alike waving banners and signs in appreciation.

"Wave, Archie. Give them the Derek Jeter salute," Betty said while driving her van and serving as a proverbial escort. Archie squeezed half his body out of the window and waved to the crowd and took Betty's suggestion to do a gesture similar to the old Yankee's player. Consequently, the crowd cheered with some kids even doing the _Fortnite_ dance in excitement.

"They love you Archie, you're the town hero," Betty said while turning down the road. The two were going to downtown shopping centre to spend together for the first time in months.

"Now I get to know how you felt last summer."

"Yeah but I didn't get crowds full of people. You're basically King for the day."

"And I have my queen," he said, reaching over to hold her hand. Betty responsively turned to his side and gave him a kiss. Betty impulsively turned on the radio, with the opening chords of Jewel's _Standing Still_ playing. She switched the channel to a station that played a song by Kings of Leon whose title hit a little too close to home.

"I used to love this song. It's been a while but uh- yeah good to hear it again," Archie said blushing.

"Yeah, I totally get what you mean," she said giggling.

"Can you change the channel? I'm in the mood for something more along the lines of classic rock. Maybe something by Queen to fit the situation better," Archie implored.

"Oh stop it. We're almost there anyway. By the way, how the heck did you get here and why are you here?" she said in a facetious tone but was asked genuinely.

Archie remained quiet for a second. Betty could not tell if he looked nervous or cocky in his features, almost as if he was trying to put on a poker face. "I got sick of Chicago and wanted to be back here. I mean it was cool and all, and I feel like I have advanced in _miles_ in terms of becoming a better musician, but this is my home. I can't miss out on the action with you and Veronica and..."

"Oh, so that's the real reason you are here. The truth comes out," she said mischievous manner. "Better seriously, what really happened? There must have been something that caused you to leave and come here."

"Do you really care in this moment? Or do you want to just enjoy how it feels now. I want to take this all in before I have to think about starting all over with everything. Same old homework, same old practices. I just want have the rest of the weekend to relax," he said while stretching his arm out of the window.

"Alright fair enough. I'm sure you'll have no choice but to divulge later," she said as she pulled into the shopping centre parking lot. Upon entering, they were immersed in a wintery spectacle of Christmas lights and townspeople dressed in winter cloaks and jackets. Archie pulled out a cigar out of his jacket pocket and lit it with his lighter.

"Whoa, are you sure that is a good idea to smoke that a week before State's? Your body is a temple, you'll need it for when you play college football," Betty looked over concernedly.

"Heh, I'm not going to get a scholarship to play football. Heck, I wouldn't get a scholarship for anything, I'm a white guy."

"Oh stop it, you privileged white male," she laughed while he puffed out smoke. Many people were circumventing the parking lot and Betty looked around concerned he would get in trouble. "You're not going to smoke while we walk around, are you"

"Heh, I'm only smoking it now because Reggie gave it to me when I left. He wanted to class up his celebration I suppose." Archie quickly finished his cigar and tossed it an ashtray. The two interlocked their arms and began walking down the town centre.

"I really want ice cream first. And then maybe we can have hot chocolate when we go to my house."

"Your house? I don't think that's a good idea considering the last time you and I were together your mom probably thought we had..."

"But we didn't," Betty interrupted. "At least we haven't yet."

The two entered an ice cream parlor and were greeted by a few stares from customers in line.

"Good game tonight son. The last time I saw a red-headed guy play that well was when Sonny Jurgensen was in the league," an elderly patron said to him.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that," Archie responded and pretended to know who the referenced player was. The two made it through the line and ordered chocolate and orange sherbert cones respectively and sat inside. As they snacked on the ice cream, snowflakes came pouring down and Christmas music played on the speakers.

"So are you going to show us your new skills from that music school you went to? You told me that it constantly filled up your time when we Skyped."

Archie licked his cone and looked over at her. "It did. Before school, after school, sometimes for four hours on Sundays, God forgive me. I know a lot more than I did before though. I learned how to play the drums and the trombone and was taught stuff about composition and musical theory that I probably wouldn't have even learned in college."

"Do you think you'll ever share that here? When you're not busy being the star football player."

"You know, I was thinking of forming a band with Jughead and Reggie. Reggie is decent enough at bass and Jughead can really jam out on drums. Speaking of Jughead, I heard he moved in next to you. How has that been?"

"Oh it's been nice. We hang out sometimes but I've been really busy recently. No awkwardness at all to be honest," Betty said nervously.

"So he hasn't watched you change from the window?"

"No Archie! What are you making him out to be some creepy peeping tom or were you nervous he'd win me back," Betty responded frenetically, slamming her hands on the table.

"Well, to be honest I kinda had my worries. You're a really attractive girl and I could imagine it would be frustrating not being able to be close to anybody. I mean it was hard for me," Archie said while finishing up his orange ice cream cone.

"When you say 'close'- is that a euphemism for something? Something personal?"

Archie raised his eyebrows. "I think I know what you mean and no I didn't while I was over there."

"But you have before though, right? Not just with she-who-shall-not be-named but also with your other favorite cheerleader..."

"Betty, come on, do we have to do this right here..."

Betty glared at him with a smug look as if she had just uncovered hidden treasure. "Ah ha, so you guys did do it. I had an inkling. Well, I have to say you're a very lucky boy Archie Andrews, she's beautiful."

Archie rolled his eyes. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to say, 'not as beautiful as you.' Because yeah, I always preferred blondes more. I don't really feel the need to talk about our previous _experiences."_

"You think I had a previous experience?"

"Well I don't know, I just kinda figured..."

"Because I haven't," Betty said with a serious look on her face. "Jughead was a bit apprehensive on the subject and wasn't a ready. Besides, us Cooper girls were told numerous times in Church we need to save ourselves for marriage. I mean isn't that what everyone is doing nowadays."

"Yeah clearly," Archie responded sarcastically.

"I'm just going to be a good wife and cook for ma' husband," Betty said mockingly in a southern accent.

"I'd be cool with that. Can we go back to your place so you can cook me some rotisserie chicken."

"I suppose you want me to change into a Betty Draper dress and high heels."

"Yep, and have Veronica lend you her pearls and we have the real deal."

Betty rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Alright, let's get out of here. I don't want to have to drive through two feet of snow." The two eventually made their way to her van and exited out of the shopping centre. Betty rubbed Archie's arm as she turned on the heater of her car.

"I talked to your dad a little while ago. He really seemed to miss you," Betty leaned over to tell him. "I hope you really appreciate him. I wish my parents were as supporting as yours."

"Heh, I don't have it so well either. I wish my parents were still together, just so they could both be at my football games and my concerts. It just seems so inconvenient."

"I don't know Archie. Both of them seem really invested in you. I don't know if I could say the same about mine," Betty said regrettably.

"I don't buy that for a second. I think you believe the whole world is against you sometimes and you have to project on the people closest to you."

"Then why don't I project onto you. We get along just fine."

"That's because we've always been good friends."

"Just friends?" Betty asked, sensing that Archie may have done a freudian slip. The two of them had entered a new realm of dating and she wondered how different it feel from them just casually hanging out and if it would feel uncomfortable from what they were accustomed to.

"No, Betty. We're much more than that." The two of them reached the Cooper's house and hastily entered the door without slipping on the ice in the front. The house was filled with golden Christmas lights ascending up the stairway with green wreaths on the railway. A small Christmas tree in the living room featured some of the old class ornaments made by Polly and Betty.

"Hey I remember this one from second grade," Archie said holding up an ornament that was a reindeer with a lightbulb nose. "I wish our school assignments now were that easy."

"Me too." Betty nuzzled up behind Archie and rested her head on his shoulder. "I was going to make hot choclate, but I was thinking- since my parents aren't home yet- do you want to go upstairs and get _closer,"_ she said with the last word more accented.

"You don't mean you really want to?"

"No... not yet. But that doesn't mean we can get close, even if it isn't in the context you mean it," she said in a suggestive manner.

Archie had a wide smile on his face and nodded. "Ok, I think I'm fine with that as well." The two went upstairs to Betty's room and immediately locked their lips together upon entering. As they broke apart, Betty pushed Archie onto her bed and continued to lock lips with him. Betty perched herself on top, sitting on his abdomen.

"Happy early Christmas Archie," she said before pulling off her sweater and revealed a dark bra.

"Happy early Christmas Betty," Archie laughed and began kissing down her neck before aptly pulling off his own shirt as well. Betty fell on top of him and allowed their skin to touch and continued to trade kisses. Archie ran his hands through her sides and suddenly twitched when he heard a sound from downstairs.

"Betty, we're home." Polly's voice came from downstairs. "Mom wants to hear how the game went. She needs a bit of a distraction right now." Betty's heart jumped and new she had seconds to act without getting busted by her mother.

"Get under my bed, I have a few boxes under there so be careful," she said while reaching for her sweater. Archie quickly slipped under the bed and tried to squeeze in so he wouldn't be seen."

"So, are we going to States?" Alice said while walking in. She had a tired look on her voice but looked confuse to see her daughter wearing only a bra and her makeup all smeared. "Why are you dressed like that, it's cold out right now."

"Oh, I just got really sweaty during the game and I was just about to take a shower," Betty said calmly.

"Why is your make-up all messed up. I hope it didn't look like that during the game."

"Oh no, it was snowing and I had to rub the snowflakes off my face. That's why it's like that," Betty said confidently.

"Uh huh. Well we're having some apple pie downstairs if you want some."

"Pie? I love pie!" Archie murmured from under the bed. Betty covered her face in embarrassment and Alice smiled.

"I had a feeling that would work," Alice said.

A/N: 20 something chapters in an Archie/Betty fic and they're finally going on a date. Slow and steady wins the race I guess. Writing this made me in the mood to listen to some Christmas tunes. In fact, I'll be right back. *Burl Ives plays in the background*


	25. Love in All the Right Places

Betty carved a piece of pie, put it on a blue plastic plate and gave it to Archie. She then proceeded to carve one out for herself and the texture and aroma all seemed a lot more appealing, especially when your boyfriend was back in town.

"I better not find any Trojan boxes hidden in the backyard," Alice said in a flustered tone.

"Mom, I told you already. We did not do anything," Betty said with a chagrined look on her face.

"Yeah, you were only going to hug each other half-dressed. Keep that up and you'll join the Nunnery for the Quiet Mother's of Sister's Mercy." Polly shuddered as Alice said those words as the four of them took a seat at the dinner table.

"So Archie, I heard that you learned how to play quiet a few instruments. Ya must be real handy with those fingers. Or better yet, your lips. Especially with the saxophone. Young Huey Lewis over here," Polly said nudging him on the shoulder.

"Polly, knock it off," Alice said glaring at her.

"What mom? You think I'm being euphemistic about something. I'm just asking about his time at his musical prep school. I've missed him so much," she said wrapping around her arms around his neck.

"Hey, he's mine." Betty got up from the other side of the table and also put her arms around him, this time around his stomach.

"Oh jeez, maybe I need to leave the room," Alice said rolling her eyes and carving a piece of pie for herself. "Just another day in the woods, huh Archie? I'm sure you got plenty of attention at the new school of yours? By the way, why did you decide to come back? And why did your dad allow it? He seemed pretty adamant about you being in Chicago."

"Oh well, about that... He didn't exactly know I was coming home."

Alice let out a contemptuous look. "What!? Archie, that's a pretty big deal to just come back here without your parent's notice. You better call and let him know or _I will._ "

Archie gulped and looked as if an eel went down his throat. "Oh he knows, he saw me at the game, I just didn't get the chance to..."

"So you avoided him because he has a weak leg and couldn't chase you to strangle your head for not telling him? Go outside and call him now," Alice said in an authoritative tone. Archie complied, knowing Alice's wrath would be much worse than his dad's. As Archie left the room, Polly whispered to her sister.

"This would be a good time to tell you that Mr. Gregerson mentioned that whole situation Archie had last year with the she-who-will-not-be-named. She didn't mention him by name, but that beleaguered women is now facing charges."

"How did she find out? The only person that was in that room was me, Archie, Fred and Alice. I don't think Fred would have told anyway..."

"I made a bad mistake," Alice let out in an exasperated tone. "You're probably going to be mad at me but I told Hiram because I thought it would buy us favor with the Lodges. Hiram had concerns about who his daughter was dating and I gave him an honest answer. If I knew what an asshole he was at the time, I wouldn't have said any..."

"I'm really trying hard not to scream right now for Archie's sake, but _why_?" Betty said and nearly pulled the table cloth off as her hands clambered across the table in disbelief. "Why would you use someone's personal situation to advance your own 'financial needs.' My god, I feel so sick right now."

"Well she should have been reported to the police and my inaction in not doing so for your boyfriend's dignity was very irresponsible. She could be preying on another High School boy as we speak," Alice said in response, her voice somewhat tense.

"Sorry about that guys, I should have taken care of that earlier," Archie said walking in the room. He saw Betty's look of anguish on her face and rightfully deciphered that her and her mother had gotten into an argument, albeit for a different reason than he thought.

"Ok, if this is about me, I promise that I did not have sex with her, Ms. Cooper. I swear from the bottom of my heart that I will have the utmost for your daughter and will respect your home and your boundaries."

"That's very sweet of you Archie. I'm sure Betty is very thankful to have you back where you belong," Alice said with an egregious smile on her face. Betty still was not smiling.

"You know, why does everything have to be so tense right now. We should be celebrating the victory. We're all going to New York City and Archie is probably going to carry them to a Championship," Polly said in alleviated tone.

Betty stopped and took a breath. The revelation of what happened at the debate night rattled her brain and put in her in an anaphylactic shock, but at the same time, she still wanted to savor the moment she had with Archie and how good it felt to be in his arms and to feel his embrace. She wanted to feel his embrace some more and allow him to discover more of her.

"Yeah I haven't been in at least a couple of years. It will be nice to see all the Christmas decorations up and maybe we can go up the see the Empire State Building. It'll be hard to relax though when I have the biggest game in my life and y'all cheerleaders only have to do a little dance," he said looking at Betty.

"Excuse me sir, but being a cheerleader is a lot more than that," Polly interjected. "You have hours of practice, ungodly stretching routines, have to be precise in all your movements. You can make a mistake and the game just keeps on going."

"Oh I never make a mistake."

"I don't know you're defense is pretty lackluster right now," Polly said before reaching over to tickle him under the armpit. Archie recoiled from her touch and took a cloth napkin from the table and lightly hit it against her head. She giggled and tried to tickle his sides.

"Would you two stop. It's like you guys are a married couple or something," Betty said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh lighten up Betty, you'll have him for the rest of the year, I'm not taking your man," she said once again wrapping her arms around him. "Besides, no one wants to date a single mother."

"I'd still date you," Archie said holding her tight.

"Awww, Archie." Polly picked up a piece of pie with her fork and fed it to Archie. "You're so sweet."

"Ok this is getting too weird. I'll be out in the living room, if anyone needs me," Alice said walking out. Betty fumed at her mother for leaving the scene, knowing full well she didn't want to be in Betty's crossfire.

"So... I take it that mom's chances aren't looking too good for the election," Betty piped in.

Archie pulled away from her sister. "Wait, your mom is running for... wait, what?

"Yep, she's running for mayor. I wasn't too happy about it and thought it was a good idea but it is what it is I suppose." Betty's stomach curled up, realizing that the news of the debate would spread and Archie would inevitably hear about his paramour being put away behind bars. She wondered if that would cause a rift between them and he would resent her for it. Or if the debate would even be talked about that much? Could the game somehow overshadow it, or would the debate overshadow the game? She didn't want to think about it.

"Well, that's an interesting change for a career choice," Archie said blankly, causing Polly to laugh. "I suppose it's not out of left field if she was a reporter. You got to know the facts in both, so maybe it was a good idea. Who is she running against?"

"Frederick Gregerson, a former business partner of Hiram and some 20-something-year-old flunky named Matt. His chances might have been killed now that people discovered his old twitter posts from years ago," Polly said.

"Oh really? What did he say?" Archie asked.

Polly brushed her hair and started guffawing. "Apparently- he really likes _My Little Pony_ , the new series. Like a little _too much_ , if you catch my drift," she said with a bit of unease at the end.

"Oh... Well eventful night tonight I guess," said Archie. Betty bursted out laughing and nearly had to spit out her pie.

"Takes me back to the night we went camping. I think I was up 48 hours straight after all that went down. But I was glad I was up for all of it," Betty said while placing her hand into Archie's.

"Yeah, me neither. That flight felt like the longest two hours of my life. Just starting over everything," He pulled out the coin his father had given and palmed it in his hand.

"So, whatever happened to the Serpents? Did they ever show back up? Get convicted?" Betty and Polly looked at him with a confused look on their faces.

"Well, they are technically still there in the Southside but we can't really incriminate any of those who weren't apprehended at the town centre. Not without proof. They've just kinda have faded in the backdrop," Betty said. She was curious as to why he brought it out of the blue.

"Uh-huh," Archie said somewhat nervously. The two sat there quietly and ate for a few minutes until the door bell rang.

"Uh-oh, you're about to be grounded buster. No more kissing on girls for you." Polly chided and proceeded to blow him a kiss.

"I know Polly, what am I going to do without you," Archie said getting up from his chair.

"Archie, you know you're only allowed to have one of us. I don't know what ideas you are trying to get but we're monogamous," Betty said sarcastically.

Soon enough, Fred had entered the room with Alice and Betty got up to give him a hug.

"You were amazing out there today," Fred said to Betty. "I didn't think anyone could fly that high in the air." Whilst saying this, he was looking over Betty's shoulder and gave a mischievous to Archie as if he was a snake getting ready to unleash its fury on a mouse. Archie recoiled slightly in his seat.

"And you son. You know, there comes a time in his father's life when he wonders if his son will get to go to a State Championship. I never thought I would get to experience that while also wanting to strangle you simultaneously." Polly let out a fake laugh in an effort to ease the tension before Fred mockingly wrapped his hands around Archie's neck. Alice merely rolled her eyes.

"Archie already told me he's doing all the chores for the week. Actually two weeks. Isn't that right Archie?" Alice said with a smug look on her face.

"Uh- yeah," he said with an uncomfortable smile. The five of them briefly recollected some of the moments of the night- Alice's major slip up of course was not mentioned. Polly proceeded to pick up her son from the babysitter, while Betty and Archie headed upstairs to collect all of Archie's belongings from football. As the two entered, like deja vu, Betty grasped onto Archie's arm.

"You know, you seemed a little too interested in my sister, Archie. Should I be worried? I always thought you had a crush on her," she said guiding his hand to feel her sides.

"We were just having fun. Would matter either way. I'm not good enough for her. Which is why I had to settle for you," he said blushing.

Betty smiled and pressed against him more. "Well at least you didn't come out empty-handed. Speaking of which..." She began to guide his hands under her shirt and above her naval. "You know you scored the winning touchdown but I feel you deserve more," she said gazing at his eyes.

Archie nodded his head and moved his hands upwards, feeling the fabric of her bra and the skin above it. Betty sighed a bit as she felt him squeeze and closed her eyes to take in the feeling.

"You know, I was think of trying out for baseball in the spring anyway," Archie said jokingly, leading Betty to push him away and pull back down the hem of her shirt.

"Really Archie? Did you do that on purpose because we don't have much time tonight?" As soon as Betty said that, Alice's voice came echoing up the stairs. Archie nodded.

"Yeah, plenty of time for inter-family bonding between my dad and your mom later. Maybe a Christmas Party would be more apt," he said while hustling out of the door with his sports bag. Fred and Archie said their goodbyes to the girls, leaving the two idle in the house until Polly came back to the house and put her son to bed.

"I'm so mad at Hal for opening up that shop so late, I told him that his employees need to learn to close the books on their own," Alice lamented before retiring to her master bedroom. Hal had returned to his shop after seeing the game because his shop had expanded to hire new employees. This often meant the girls would stay up later to greet him past 9 P.M.

"Hey Polly, do you think it was kinda weird that Archie asked about the Serpents just out of the blue?" Betty said to her sister.

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe he was just trying to break the ice. Unless he was worried about something with Jughead going on. I wonder..." Before Polly could finish, a text message went off on Alice's phone. Betty grabbed it and could not unlock it.

"Hey do you know Mom's numbers?"

"Yeah, it's dad's birthday, my birthday, then your birthday." Betty punched it and saw the text was from an unnamed source. It read:

 _I talked with FP at the prison. He said the meet up is a go. You'll get all the dirt you need on that weasel._

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews I have been getting recently, I love all the support. This probably pushes the T rating but I intend on keeping stuff pretty light until further notice.

TTFN


	26. Nevermore

Veronica adjusted Reggie's bedsheets across her body as she pressed against his back. The two were in his bedroom and only the two of them knew about their whereabouts. Reggie insisted on them 'celebrating' after the game, and celebrate big they did.

"I need to go, my parents will be home in a little while, I don't want them to give them any ideas," she said. Her body reared around the edge of the bed and she adroitly put her underwear back on.

"Oh I think they have an idea already, they're just too afraid to admit it. They might actually be secretly happy about it," Reggie said whilst staring at the bare back of his girlfriend.

"You know Reggie, it's a lot easier when you're a guy dealing with that issue than being a girl. My dad has André keeping two eyes on me all the time." She quickly put on her bra and placed the hook on the band.

"Oh like my mom isn't always on my case. She's worried that you're going to get pregnant. Besides, you're probably not raising any suspicion with the granny panties you are wearing," he coaxed.

"They're not granny panties, Reggie. Just because I don't wear thongs 24/7 for your liking doesn't mean my undies are from the 50's. Plus they are super comfortable," she said casing her fingers around them.

"I'll have to buy you some thongs for you for Christmas, one that feels super snug right up in there." Reggie hooked his fingers around the backside of her underwear and pulled them down a bit to get one last look at her tush before letting them go like a slingshot.

"How thoughtful of you," she sighed. She put on the rest of her clothes and checked her phone to see if Archie had responded, unbeknownst to her boyfriend, who she was standing back away from. "You know, we could have just gone out for a bite to eat instead of- you know, the usual."

"We can still go out somewhere. Do you want to go to a movie or something?" he feebly asked her.

"No, I think I'm going to head home now. My dad was picking me up some chicken tendies after the game. Don't want them to get too cold, do I now?"

Reggie adjusted himself on the bed. "Maybe I could stop by for a while. I'm sure your dad will want to know how the game was and I could fill him on everything."

Veronica bit her lips and looked to the side. She often enjoyed the company of her boyfriend but at other times he became too consuming and needed space from him. The return of Archie also made the ambiance of the night's game feel strangely melancholy. She had envisioned Archie scoring a winning touchdown and making the team to the Championship, albeit in a circumstance where she would be in his arms at the end of the game.

"I mean, maybe it would be best for us to have alone time for both of our families. I'm sure _your dad_ would like to discuss the game with you. And your mom needs to give her little guy a kiss on the cheek of course."

"You know, it seemed like I was part of your family for a while. But, hey it's totally up to you I guess." Reggie got dressed and escorted her out to her car, leaving Veronica on the road in her Blue Subaru. After ten minutes or so, she reached her family's Mansion and traversed through the isolated arching road that led up to it on the hill. Smithers greeted her as she entered their 8 car garage and greeted her with a stern look on her face.

"Madame, I know I would be remiss to be a prude in this day and age, but I do believe you did not keep your original promise of returning here an hour after the game. I'm not going to ask but I hope you're reading for some line of 'questioning'." Smithers' features looked tired and he looked if as if he saw something once beautiful lose its luster. Perhaps he actually had.

Veronica made her way into the house where her cherished chicken tenders were on the kitchen table and her father was sitting, smiling on the table.

"Am I looking at a future Rockette? You were outstanding out there tonight. Maybe they'll discover you in New York."

"Oh daddy." Veronica hugged him. "It's cute that you try to pretend that we're not public figures and I could lead a normal life."

"Yes, I'm very sorry for that. I know you would prefer that pay your own bills and have to worry about your financial responsibility the rest of your life," he said with a sneering grin.

"Meaning you'll always have your paws in what I'm doing right?" she said glaring at him.

"Hmm, I guess that means you'll have to take up a waitressing job to get into college," he said smiling. Veronica rolled her eyes and bit her tongue.

"Alright daddy, I'm thankful for all you and mom have done. I love you," she said hugging again, this time in a slightly disingenuous manner.

"So Archie is back in town. Since when did that happen? Fred did not tell me anything about that."

Veronica rubbed her nose with a confused look on his face. "Yeah, that's something I'll have to ask Betty. I haven't talked to him in a while to be honest," she said before biting on a chicken tender.

"It won't be awkward with you two will it? Not that it is any of my business, as you've told me numerous times with all the boys in your life."

"No, it'll be fine. So how did the debate go?"

Hiram looked as though he had sweat dripping down his face. "Well, Frederick did good. I was quite eventful, I'll say that. People will definitely be talking about it, won't need to hear what happened from me."

Veronica had a worried look on her face and nearly choked on her nugget. "Oh no, don't tell me he ripped poor Ms. Cooper to shreds."

"Well he brought an important issue to attention and definitely delineated the difference between what she should have done and what he did do."

Veronica's eyes flared up as she immediately knew what she was talking about. "Oh god, you're talking about the incident with Archie and the teacher, aren't you." She bit her lip while Hiram's figures remained relaxed.

"Archie's name was not said during the debate, nor the name of the teacher. Rest assured his reputation will not be damaged."

"Well, whatever you say. Alice knew what she was getting into when she entered the world of politics and she should have told authorities. I was grossed out by that whole thing to be honest, it was only a matter of time."

Hiram patted her on the head. "Now that is the spirit. You're going to make a great business women one day." He left the room, and Veronica sat there in silence. Her thoughts were whirling amidst the euphoria of the game earlier and the impending layers upon layers of homework that was always stacked on by teachers who needed more grades before Christmas break. A part of her was disappointed she would not get to rest a bit for the football season with a very long basketball season coming up. It was a bit overwhelming at times, but no seemed to suspect that or care because she was 'privileged.'

Veronica would spent the rest of her weekend riding horseback, finishing up two papers and her Algebra II homework and the rest of the time just lying comatose on her bed and taking a break from all the stress. Even then, she could not completely rest as she felt a psychological absence of intimacy and would randomly feel spurs come on of wanting to be close with someone. Her current boyfriend was simply not providing it and it at times made her feel depressed. The coming week almost gave her a second wind.

Upon Monday, Veronica returned to school and greeted Betty at her locker, whom had a wide smile on her face.

"You look happy, did you two have a _fine_ evening out and about," Veronica said in a perky manner.

"Oh nothing special, just a little ice cream date, which I guess was our fist 'official' date technically, if you can believe it. So nothing too special."

"So you're saying there was no real post-game action. Reggie and I had a little skin-on-skin action afterwards. Real eager too after a game like that."

Betty giggled. "No we didn't, although Archie definitely got a feel of something if you know what I mean." She shut her locker and the two headed to first period class of English, which conveniently enough, the prodigal son himself also had.

The class began sputtering out noises while a few others greeted when Archie entered the room, with even the teacher giving him an appreciative look.

"Archie Andrews, what impeccable timing for you to rejoin our class. We've just started our Greek Legends quarter a few weeks ago, and you certainly have achieved some heralded deeds," Ms. Caputo, the young English teacher said.

Archie merely blushed while a few others laughed at her comments. A few minutes after attendance and the usual opening week small-talk in class, Ms. Caputo refocused the topic of conversation to the previous reading passage.

"So in the Judgement of Paris, we see Eris, the goddess of Strife, being envious of not being invited to a party by Zeus, and decided to create tension in the party by planting a golden apple for the most beautiful goddess at the party. Naturally, a few different guests thought they deserved the tile. Who were they?"

"Athena, Hera and Aphrodite," Betty answered.

"Correct, and naturally when things come to a headlock, you need someone else to make that decision. Who did Zeus choose to select the most beautiful?"

"Paris," answered Veronica.

"That's right, not another god but rather a mere mortal who in Paris who was a shepherd. Why do you think he picked him over another God?"

"I think he wanted Paris to be overwhelmed by his choices and really have to careful with who he picked. Paris wasn't used to being surrounded by beautiful women and would be really honest with them. Another God would have used the situation to manipulate it in his favor," Archie answered, despite not having read the passage.

"Very good Archie, you're coming out swinging right out of the gates. And you bring up a good point, a God probably would have picked someone for his own gain, which is exactly what the goddess tried to do with Paris. They all stripped down naked for him, and even when that was not enough, they bribed him with three different things. Athena offered to give him wisdom in battle. Hera offered him two continents in Europe and Asia. And Aphrodite's bribe was the smallest, yet the one he took, was the most beautiful women in Helen of Troy. So before we move on to the next passage, which one do you think Paris should have chose."

"Clearly Hera's," Veronica piped in. "Having two continents at your command was larger than either of the other two. So much power you could use with all those nations." Ms. Caputo nodded and then called on someone else.

"I think picking Athena would have been smarter," Moose commented. "You could lose Europe and Asia through conquest. It would be smart to learn how to win a battle ensure you could always survive in a time like that."

"Not a bad choice. Would anyone have picked Aphrodite?" The teacher asked. Archie rose his hand.

"I would. The first could bring you happiness for a little while, but they would feel hollow after a while. Having the most beautiful women is what every man would want, and only one man could have. What man wouldn't want to have that?" A few of the guys nodded in the class before the teacher interrupted. Betty meanwhile looked at him with a doe-eyed look on her face.

"You made a good point of the first two not lasting forever, but doesn't beauty fade? And what if that women did not truly love you? What would you do then?" Ms. Caputo responded.

"Make her love you," he said chuckling. A few other guys joined him in laughter. Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Well, not everyone is gifted in that regard, Mr. Andrews. But I suppose that risk taking is why the Gods choose him. Paris himself was a ladies man and could not resist Aphrodite's seductive wiles. Maybe in a modern day setting, he would have picked you." The class laughed upon her remark and Archie looked around with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I'm only joking Archie. Now everyone do the reading on page 342 and finish the questions, and do the write up for the homework." The class would finish about 20 minutes later and Veronica managed to catch up with Archie before he left for his next class.

"I've been looking for you sports stud. Did you get my texts?" she said lightly tapping on the shoulder.

"I did, yeah. I got literally hundreds from a lot of people so I haven't had time to respond to all of them, yet. That and I was doing stuff with my dad and...

"Don't worry about it. You know I was thinking maybe we could hang out for a little bit. Maybe go to a movie, a round at Pop's, just to catch up."

"Yeah sure, maybe we could bring Betty and Reggie and make it a double date. That would make it more fun with the four of us."

Veronica exhaled. "I was thinking maybe actually just the two- well there were a few things I wanted to talk about that we never got a chance to. I mean you left so fast and we barely talked since then and... I don't know, I think it would be nice."

"You still aren't upset about what happened, are you?" Archie asked concernedly.

"No, of course not," Veronica said reassuringly. "I just think maybe since we had an emotional connection, or maybe still have, it be good to talk everything out."

Archie bit his lip and looked around. "I understand that, but- I don't know how to say this, but I just think- I just think it would feel too weird, you know. We did have a connection, a deep connection, like you said, and just hanging around someone like that without the- you know, the usual part of relationship just feels weird to me. That's how I've always felt after ending relationships, you have this expectation and once it's not there anymore... I think it would be better if we have breathing room from one another for a while. We can still be friends we just need..."

"Archie, it's okay. I completely understand. I'll let you catch up on all your classes," she said briefly holding his arm before saying goodbye. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, although she wish he had not done that in this instance.

Veronica walked away to her next class, her feelings changing from anxiety to stimulus overload. She was disappointed, perhaps not heartbroken, but still upset at the circumstance of Archie being there. He was back and she was not hers. And all she wanted right then was to have him back again.


	27. Aphrodite

Archie exhaled from rushing another rep with the football. His body was still getting used to the physical exertion, even after his superhuman play in his last game. There was no football team at the school he attended and although playing musical instruments took a great amount of exertion, football sometimes meant being a human sandbag.

"Hey Andrews, I need a word with you," Coach Clayton said to him after practice had ended. The rest of the team were scurrying off to the locker room to get back to the cherished heat. Frankie Valdez pounced on his shoulder pads as Archie approached the coach.

"D1 Scholarship offers on the table, get it son," he said before sprinting off the locker room.

"Son, your little play caught a lot of attention for a number of different reasons. Unfortunately, if you want to play in the next game, you need to provide documentation of a transfer request and a school ID. The coach in Parkland was furious about what happened and the Buffalo High team coach wants this to be cleared by the league."

"No worries, I can provide both of those."

Coach Clayton placed a hand on his shoulder. "I thought so. Good to have you back son, I'll see you tomorrow for practice." Archie walked off the field, feeling the sweat buildup throughout all the padding and wanted to freshen himself up before going home. Upon reaching the side of the bleachers, he pulled out his sports bag and texted Betty.

 _Hey, are you still here. Practice went on longer than usual._

Betty responded: _Yeah, we're all finished up now. I'm at the library, wanna meet up later?_

Archie responded: _Yeah, just give me a few minutes, I'll be in the shower._

He quickly retreated in the lockerrom, rubbing his gloves together to warm his body. By the time he reached inside, it was almost empty, with the last people in there putting away there equipment and headed out to get home as soon as possible. This was a bit of relief to Archie, as it would mean he could shower in his own solidarity without anyone else cycling through the lockerrom. He quickly put away his equipment, stripped down and grabbed his towel while secluding himself to the corner of the locker room where the shower was located.

The water felt like a hot spring as he rested his head against the wall and poured shampoo down his hair. It was a bit of a relief, and was probably a small moment of relaxation he would have amongst his very business schedule. He took a breath, looked down and gasped as he saw another figure enter the shower area. A female figure.

"You know, that 'Judgement of Paris' story got me thinking," Betty said to him, walking adorned only a towel. "I really need a good way to show my beauty." Betty dropped the towel to the ground and began approaching Archie.

Archie dropped his shampoo on the ground. "Yeah, you win. I pick you," he said before pulling her in for a kiss, reaching for her back and pulled her in under the water. Betty put her hand on his cheek and kissed him hard, aggressively kissing down on his neck.

"Betty, wait. We don't have to now, unless you really really want to," Archie said as his mouth pulled away from her's momentarily.

"Oh I didn't plan on doing it here. This is a boy's locker room. This is the least romantic place you could think of. I just came to bathe with you. As most couples do, together." She continued kissing him and Archie pulled her in closer for an embrace.

"Ok, I'm fine with that. Pass me the soap and I'll give you a good scrubbing." Betty giggled and went over to retrieve the soap bar. Archie stood there stolidly, still taking in Betty's form in all her glory for the first time as she came back to him, her hair running down her breasts and swerved her hips and bumped into him. Archie took a washcloth and rubbed it against the soap and then proceeded to lather it against Betty's body, beginning at her shoulders. He did it so tenuously that his hand was almost shaking.

"Here, let me wash your hair," Betty said squirting the shampoo in her hand and running it through his hair. He smiled and then proceeded to run the washcloth down Betty's backside and stopped to give her derriere a squeeze. She bit her lips and giggled and took the the washcloth from him to clean his chest- going slowly to feel each defined part of his six-pack abdomen.

"How did you learn to get so good at this? Are you training to be a nurse?" he said running his bare hands down his legs. "You'd make a real hot one," he said kissing her on the lips once more.

"No, I just think you could be cleaner," she pulling on the washcloth to remove the suds and then wrapped it around his neck, pulling him a little closer. "You've been a very dirty Mr. Andrews," she said whispering in his ear.

Archie ran his hands down her soft skin again and then rested his head on her chest. "I don't deserve you, you're too good to me."

"Oh Archie, stop it." She continued to hold him close while his head remained perched on her.

He turned his head to look up to her. "Almost as if you were a goddess," he smiled. He picked her up and carried her onto the bench, with Betty squealing as he grabbed her by her legs and her back. He perched himself on the bench, ran his finger down her chest and pulled her in for another kiss. Their lips remained locked for minutes, even though he wanted it to last for hours, and the steam began to collect in the room from the duration of the shower. The two pressed their lips harder, with Archie holding her chin up and Betty holding his neck. After a few more moments, the two rested their heads against each other.

"As much as I want this to continue, I think it's best we head out before we get caught. And before run up the water bill and we get in trouble," Archie said looking down in her.

Betty giggled. "Priorities, Archie. But yeah, that's probably a good idea." The two got off from the bench, helped dried themselves off with each other's respective towels and then got dressed and walked out together through the exterior gym exit.

Archie walked out with a red look on his face, holding her hand as they reached the parking lot.

"So, do you maybe want to study together later at my place? Maybe for a little bit if you have time."

Betty smiled and shook her head. "I have dinner with my family tonight Archie. But I'll definitely see you soon," she said and kissed on the lips as they reached her car and parted ways for the days.

Archie went back to his truck and had forgotten about all the things he needed to do for the day. It was the weirdest feeling when the temperature was freezing cool yet his body had a warmth run all throughout his body. It was right there and then he realized he made the right choice.

A/N: Plot? What Plot?


	28. Vital Information

Alice made her way through the County Prison. Sheriff Keller guided her through the hallway and stopped at a security checkpoint. The two were greeted by a women holding a clipboard and another blonde haired women standing by her side.

I'm Penny Peabody," F.P.'s lawyer, she offering her hand for Alice to shake. Alice did so and feared if she was going to serve as a gatekeeper to F.P. "So I hear you wanted to speak to him about prison reform, huh?"

"I think getting a different perspective would be beneficial to my campaign. I've been criticized for being to harsh so I've decided to reach out."

"Alice, cut the bullshit. I know you have some business to attend to with F.P. and I've coached him not say anything that would incriminate him. He has all the leverage in this situation so you best be ready."

"And I hope as a lawyer you know that confidentiality is very important. So if you don't mind, I'd like to see the man."

"Like I said, if anything happens to him, that's on you."

"Well, I love your loyalty to your clients and I'll be sure to hire you if I ever find myself in legal trouble." Alice shot her a haughty smile. Penny nodded and Alice was checked in and went through the door.

"Best of luck, Alice. What are you doing is the right decision for your campaign. My son thought so too," Sheriff Keller said as she entered the door. Alice felt bad about having to lie to get a good reason to talk to him.

She entered the room and saw it was smaller than most visitor rooms, with only two booths for visitors. Alice sat down at a chair adjacent to FP, all of course separated by glass. He sat in a lackadaisical manner, his hands resting behind his neck.

"Prison reform, huh? Didn't have the courage that you wanted to meet with an old associate," he said through the speaker.

"Look, F.P., I will try to make everything good on your end. So let's not waste any time here. I got an anonymous text that said you had some dirt on Frederick Gregerson."

F.P. nodded. "Yeah, I do. But I want to set some terms before I spill anything. Namely, being able to see my wife and kids and getting out of here."

"F.P., I'm only running for mayor. The most pull I probably would have is getting you supervised visits outside every now and then."

F.P. shook his head bit his lip. "Not enough. It isn't safe in here for me. I've already been attacked multiple times by Ghoulies while in the showers. My time is running short and I need to get out of here now."

 _Crap_ , Alice thought. _This will look very hypocritical to pardon a criminal when I'm running a tough on crime campaign. Well, it's not like things could get much worse._ "Alright, I will do my best to advocate for a full pardon on your behalf. You were clearly a man in a precarious situation and I think the system will acknowledge that"

"And my guys need to have lesser sentences, if not put on parole or gotten out entirely," he said with a smug smile on his face.

"F.P., you know what they did this year was pretty damning if I let them out, that won't bode well."

"Oh please, what they even do that was so bad? They rioted in a town centre? There is a goddamn riot every Tuesday of the week in this country. They knew what was coming with Hiram invading and wanted no part of it. And neither do you."

"Are you forgetting the fact that they held Fred Andrews hostage and one of them nearly killed him by shooting him in the spine?" Alice said in a frantic tone. The security officers standing bye looked on briefly before their shifted back to normal. Alice felt her brow sweating as the room had a vacillating air conditioning system. Perhaps that was another thing she would reform in prisons, as she had read that many prisoners die from heat exhaustion.

"Jimmy, Carl, all those guys who were involved in that kidnapping have been removed from the Serpents. That was not part of the plan and Jimmy had his own vendetta that he wanted to carry out. I know a lot of them are still at large and I could care less what you do with them. Give them a chair for all I care. But my men, who I command, don't pull that shit."

"I don't know how I'm going to delineate that to the public. That some of them were just in the 'wrong crowd.'" Alice responded, feeling she had put herself in a knot as opposed to gaining anything of importance from her visit. "So what exactly about Frederick Gregerson is so damning that I could take him down."

"That guy isn't who he say he is. He has a bunch of shell companies that one knows about. One of my guys found an address to a medical equipment company in Pennsylvania. It was nothing but a shack 50 acres out of an Amish company. He brought it up to the company head and Gregerson paid him enough 'fuck you' money that he wouldn't even think about saying a word."

"Then how do you know?" Alice asked.

"He told me as a favor. I bailed him out of a botched delivery job one time so he's willing to dispel, even if it means hurting his own security."

"Well I suppose it was enough 'fuck you' money to flee to somewhere safe," said Alice. "So, anything else about him?"

"Nope, that's it. You may not think it's much, but at the end of the day, people here don't care about petty drama but what will effect them most. Everyone wants to keep more money in their pockets, but seeing someone taking shortcuts on that. Not a good look," he said with a mischievous smile.

"Oh you're one to talk, F.P. Like you've been the model of the self-made American man."

"Alice, you were in this business before, like or not. Cut a head off a snake and he will still slither his way around. Once you're in, you're never able to fully leave."

"Then I suppose the Serpents will have to deal with a 'new' look then. I'll talk to you later, F.P. Hopefully next time, in better circumstances and less handcuffs." Alice gave him a wink and walked out of the room. Sheriff Keller greeted her outside the room and escorted her out.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Oh I think I have a lot better sense of this town than I have ever had before. You just got dig around the right places and upturn every stone."

"The world is your oyster, I believe that is how that saying goes," he said with a smile.

"Yeah... Never was a fan of that one. Never made sense to me." Alice made her way out of the building and retreated quickly to the warmth of her car. As she drove away, the clouds condensed into an ominous shape- one that looked like it was eroding into a curvaceous shape, all the while tinted in a sleek black.


	29. Home for the Holidays

"Archie punched the guy standing in front of him. His punch was blocked and his opponent proceeded to roll away and pounce on top of him. Archie proceeded to kick him in a fiery fury and sent him flying ways away. That was till he got right back up and proceeded to punch Archie.

"I told you Captain Falcon was never the right choice," Jughead said to him, jamming on his old gamecube controller and proceeded to throw a blue fiery ball at Captain Falco.

"Well, Lucario was the plebeian choice as well. It's been what? Ten years since we've been playing this and you never mastered his full combo," Archie said looking over at him.

"Oh yeah, like the how Betty was able to pounce on you with Zelda when you couldn't pull out the full combo with Marth." Jughead bit his lip and proceeded to toss and smash Archie's avatar off the ledge. It was a bit ironic for the two of them to be playing the game in Archie's old room, considering Archie no longer had residence in his old home, but was now a visitor in his room.

"So you're saying we should invite the girls over so for a fatal fairway. Hell, I heard in the new one you can play with 8 people. Bring over the full crew."

"You just want another excuse to mack on Betty," Jughead said with a smug smile on his face, meanwhile bringing down Captain Falco and left Archie with one life.

"We can bring over Ethel too. You know I've heard a few things about you too. Can't say I'm too surprised." Archie attempted to falcon punch Lucario but was countered and sent flying in the opposite direction.

"And why is that Arch? Cause we're both weirdos?"

"No, I just figured since you both had very... 'eclectic' interests," he said stumbling over his words.

"Jughead sniggered while kicking down Captain Falcon and won the match. "Eclectic. Did you pull that one out of your level 7 vocal cards. But yeah, we both have a lot of the same literary interests, like how we both just happened to be reading 'The Illustrated Man' by Ray Bradbury and both like artists that are not mainstream enough for your standards."

"My standards? I don't like everything that is mainstream. I've been listening to a lot of synth wave recently. Also some folk rock," Archie said choosing his next character as Link.

"Oh please, you're trying to compensate as a John Mayer wannabe," Jughead chided.

"Oh yeah, cause you're the next Roger Taylor," Archie said rolling his eyes. Just as they started the next match, Jellybean entered the room, her eyes perked up.

"Roger Taylor, I love Roger Taylor," Jellybean said, her eyes dilating as she Archie in the room.

"Archie," she said in a surprised tone. "I heard you came back after fighting off a gang of Serpents is that true?" she said slightly blushing.

"Nope, just wanted to come back for Pop Tate's burgers," he said after laughing at her comments. "How you've been Jellybean, I heard you started fifth grade. When I last saw you, you, you could barely read."

"Yeah, back to the elementary school I first started. Good to be back," she said watching the two of them play but mostly kept her eyes on Archie. "Can I play the next game. I'm so good as Zelda."

"You mean as Sheik, where you would use that cheap shot sling move," Jughead said, bashing Link with Kirby's hammer.

"Remember that night when we played that game with 99 stock? Your dad got so mad when we stayed up till 3 in the morning during our sleepover," Archie said, with Jellybean rolling her eyes at the mention of her father.

"One of those days, we should do that again. That and try to beat the Temple of Time in Twilight Princess again. You know that one night we called Dilton over to help us." After a few more minutes, Jughead's mom Gladys entered with a tray of cookies.

"Archie Andrews. Looking dapper as ever," she said rustling his red hair and left the tray of cookies on the tabletop in-between the boy's chairs. "I just heard you came back. I need to get back in touch with your father and say hey. Also, how is your mom doing... I'm sure she was disappointed to see you leave so soon."

"She's alright," Archie gulped, while blinking his eyes a bit. "Maybe you could come over to my dad's and have dinner. Just like old times," he said.

"I would love to, I'm sure Fred is just waiting to be smashing rocks again like he always loved to do."

"At least he gets paid to do that unlike dad," Jellybean interrupted, leading Gladys to glare at her. "Well good to see you again honey, don't be a stranger to the Jones's," she said before walking out. Archie noticed a more chipper tone in Jughead's mother than he had remembered. He always remembered her as an even-keel person but she seemed more lively than usual. Perhaps the reunion of her kids made things better

"So Archie is it true you are dating Betty? I think that kiss you did at the game was all just a show. I don't think you two are a good match, she's too bland for you," Jellybean piped in after a few moments of dead air.

""Oh stop it, Jellybean. You like her so stop it with that nonsense," Jughead retorted, while Archie looked on amuse.

"Are you jealous, brother? Archie coming in and stealing your girl?" Jellybean teased. Jughead merely rolled his eyes. "No Jellybean, I think you are the one who is jealous right now," he shot back, leading his sister to turn red.

"So, anyone want anything cool for Christmas," said Archie, desperately trying to cut the awkward silence between them.

"Yeah of course, another Pink Floyd vinyl. My mom said her eyes are going red for trying to bid on them online," Jellybean said. The three played a few more games of Smash Bros. before Archie finally decided to takeoff. It was a few days before he would travel up to NYC and was following a rigid diet and training schedule that Coach Clayton had set for the team. To say he wanted it all over was an understatement, but then again, he already late for wrestling season and would start the hellish cycle all over.

"Well guys, I best get going. Good seeing you guys again."

"You two Arch, don't be a stranger. But I have a feeling you will be. We don't hang out as much as we used to. And in two years, who knows how things will end up," said Jughead.

"Archie is too cool for you," Jellybean teased.

"No, Jughead is too cool for me. If I could write like your brother could be, I know I'd be set for life. All I can write is sappy love songs. But hey, if me and Jughead collaborated one day, who knows we could do. Maybe he really could be the next Roger Taylor."

"I'm not going to be singing about how I love my car while playing the drums if that is what you meant, Archie," he said guffawing. Archie pulled him in for a 'bro-like' embrace and waved goodbye to Jellybean, before finally exiting his old room. As he walked out, that familiar sense of home returned to him, albeit in a different sense. It wasn't quite like the old days where the two could hang out together endlessly with little to no responsibility. But that brief moment of respite felt like a warm solace that he savored as he stepped out into the cold and braced for the biggest game of his life.

A/N: Pop culture reference galore! No this fic is not dead, I've just been busy with my personal life for the tenth thousandth time. Not a very eventful chapter, but I'll try the next one out very soon as it set during the Christmas season and will be much more entertaining. Let's just say a storm is coming'

TTFN


	30. New York, New York

Betty sat in her team's bus, alongside her boyfriend whilist being caroled by idle chatter amongst the rows of various football players and cheerleaders. The two teams were headed for the State Championship in East Rutherford, New Jersey at MetLife Stadium, together on the same bus- much to the chagrin of the respective coaches.

"Ms. Klump, please keep your lips off your boyfriend. Please stop with your PDA till we are off the bus," said Coach Hebert, quite callously. She sat in the front with the Coach Clayton and his assistants; whom themselves were having issues keeping the kids under control.

"Can't wait to see Eli Manning's smug look on his face disappear when he finds out I can throw farther than him," Reggie boasted toward the back. "I'm so going to get laid every day when I step onto college."

"Not from me you won't," Veronica beamed back at him from a few rows in front of him.

"Who is to say it will be from you. I don't automatically have a trust fund to Brown University like you did. I'm playing for any of the D1s that want to take me," he shot back.

"Oh, you and your toxic masculinity, Reggie," Veronica sighed, garnering a few chuckles from the few cheerleaders around her.

"Babe, you're really throwing that out right now. We're playing at MetLife Stadium, not Gilette Stadium," he retorted, resulting in many roars coming from the boys in the back.

Coach Clayton rose up and barked at his players: "Alright, that's enough. I want silence from you guys for the rest of the trip. Anyone who says a word does wind sprints through Central Park. We're almost there and I don't want a headache right before our biggest game."

Betty looked at Archie shook her head. She took his hand into her's and put her head on his shoulder. It had been a long time since she had seen New York and was excited to revisit everything this time with the company of her boyfriend.

The bus finally arrived at the Hilton Hotel, with the teams scurrying out on the sidewalk and clustered in their respective group of friends.

"Ladies, gentleman. You have four hours to have time on your own to see the city, until we meet here back at six. Anyone who doesn't come back at seven o'clock will not play on Saturday. And gentleman, do not going wander down a back alley or go downstairs to a pub. Just don't," Coach Hebert said, amongst a crowd of 70 or so teenagers. Upon the announcement, Reggie immediately came upon Archie and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Andrews, I know we are roommates for the next two nights, but I talked to Veronica and she said I could trade rooms with her, so you and your girl can spend the night together and Veronica and I will have our own room."

Archie did his best not to roll his eyes and focused his attention toward the gigantic Call of Duty poster plastered on one of the buildings. "Yeah, that's cool, I was expecting we would do that sooner or later. By the way, Betty, Moose, Midge, and I were going to the Rockefeller Center to ice skate for a bit and then get a bite to eat later. Did you want to come?"

"I don't know about the skating man, I want my feet completely fresh for the game Saturday. Veronica and I could swing by later though so we can hang out. You should probably take it easy too, scouts will be already scouting," he said bringing Archie's hand in for a bro shake and then ran back toward his girlfriend Veronica.

"Is your bromance going to steal my date?" Betty said coming from behind Archie while jumping on his shoulders and putting her arms around his neck. "I want you to give me a piggy back ride all twenty-two blocks down. can you handle that."

Archie shook his head. "No, I think only Moose could do that, and he has the added advantage of having a very small girlfriend."

"Are you calling me fat, Archie. If so, you can consider this date cancelled," she says hopping off Archie. As the two walked down the block, Moose came down trudging by, with Moose perched atop his shoulders.

"I can just skip the whole horsehide through Central Park now, I have my own steed," she said giddily while the four of them traversed through a crowd of people.

"I just want to see the Sears Tower. I heard it's the largest tower in North America," Moose said.

"Uh, honey. I think you have the geography mixed up again," Midge said giggling. "Archie, did you ever visit that while in Chicago?"

Archie nodded. He held his girlfriend's hand while moving past a group of bikers at the intersection and maneuvered in-between a horde of people and a hot dog stand. About half an hour later, the four arrived at Rockefeller Center. The courtyard was filled up modestly but most people were simply taking pictures as opposed to skating in the rink.

"Are you going to do a triple lutz Betty? I know if anyone can pull it off without practice, it's you," Midge said while getting her skates on in the bench.

"Is that supposed some sort of humble brag of how good of a flyer you are," Betty retorted back to Midge. "Because I think Coach has mentioned plenty of times she's your favorite. I'm just content she doesn't always forget about me in the back row."

Midge looked back slightly agape but did not bother to respond. She instead hobbled over on her skates with her boyfriend and stepped onto the ice. Betty looked over at Archie with a smirk and reached for his hand.

"Don't fall this time. I know you still feel that fall from my birthday party back when were eight."

"Oh please, your dad had to chase you around for cutting across the rink instead of going in a circle." Archie took her hand as he hobbled and stepped onto the ice. Betty skated with her boyfriend in tandem, taking in the entire ambiance of the Christmas adornments and everyone dressed in winter's jackets bracing the cold yet calming weather. Christmas Break had always felt like an island of paradise in-between a stormy school life, but this time it had felt something even more special. She felt more adult than ever before, skating alongside her boyfriend who she believed may one day be more than that.

"It looks like Moose and Midge are trying out for the Winter Games next February," Archie laughed, as he noticed the other Riverdale couple were skating in-tandem like a pair, with Midge showing her expertise in skating backwards and even pulled out a few spins when time and space permitted.

"She can be so full of herself sometimes. Miss all-academic who has time for ice skating and softball. She thinks every guy wants her," Betty groaned.

"Damn right they do, she's pretty hot, sorry to say it," Archie said blushing. "Although not as pretty or perfect as you..."

"Or as Veronica?" Betty deadpanned. Archie remained quiet.

"Veronica told me about our 'plans' for tonight regarding the room situation. I hope it doesn't bother you that Reggie will be staying with her. I mean, I can understand that weird feeling..."

"No, it's fine. I'm happy for them," Archie said blankly. The two continued on with their skate with out too many more words spoken and eventually called it quits with Moose and Midge, as it began to get colder.

"I just texted Veronica. She said her and Reggie will join us for lunch in that sandwich place she recommended," Midge sad as the group regrouped a few blocks away from the Centre.

A few moments later, the two of them showed up- with Reggie corralling two large shopping bags. "I wanted to go see the UN Building, she wanted to go clothe shopping. Guess who got what they wanted," Reggie said sarcastically as they reached the block.

"Oh relax, we'll have plenty of time tomorrow to see it, stop your whining," Veronica piped back.

"All this carrying crap around is going to make my arm sore for Saturday's game. And I'm wasting energy burning calories." Upon saying that, Moose grabbed the bags and hoisted them up his shoulder.

"Here you go Reggie, as offensive tackle, I protect you from both pass-rushing defenses and nagging girlfriends," Moose said, with the group bursting out in laughter.

"You haven't lost a step from when you could deadlift 500 pounds during Summer training," Archie jibed.

"As long as the sandwiches are good, I'm not complaining," Moose said, as the group began venturing o Veronica's recommended food joint. About halfway there, snowflakes began to fall and the New York traffic began to pick up, with intersections having less crossing time and the junctions being much louder. When they finally arrived, the line was short and the six got there food relatively quick.

"This was a great spot, thanks for picking it out Veronica," Midge said after taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"No problem. My daddy used to take us here whenever he came back from work late because not too many people know about it. It's a nice little gem tucked away in the concrete jungle."

"Kind of like how Riverdale is a nice little gem tucked away in New York," Moose said and received an awkward pause. "What? It's an analogy. We learned that in English class last year. I thought it was a good analogy."

"He's right," Betty responded. "For all the craziness Riverdale has gone through this year, it's brought us all together, and for that, I'm thankful for it, and all of you." Archie reached for her hand upon saying that.

"I feel the same way. Going into a small town isn't always easy, but I'm glad I've found a place. Speaking of which, have you guys thought about where you want to go to school? We have our SAT's coming this spring..."

"I've thought about becoming a CPA. My dad thinks I should be a lawyer though because I argue with him so much," said Midge.

"I actually thought about being a chiropractor. When I went there last year for my back injury, it actually felt nice and relaxing and I could see myself doing that for a while," said Moose.

Before anyone else could answer, another person joined them at the table. Veronica widened her eyes, surprised.

"Elio, fancy seeing you here. I didn't know you were a frequenter of low-key sandwich shops."

"Thinking I'm too upscale? I always know the right place to be, whether it's for a high stakes shareholders meeting or just chilling out with my friends after school," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. Reggie flinched.

"So uh Mr. Grande, I heard your family has some casinos all over the place. I'm sure the gambling industry is definitely one of the classiest careers you can have," Reggie said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, why thank you Mr. Mantle, Veronica has told me all about you. If you don't mind though, I would like to steal your woman for a bit. We have some manners I wish to discuss."

"If you want to talk to her, I'm coming with you too."

"Reggie, it's fine," Veronica interrupted him. "It's only platonic, business manners. Nothing real personal. I'll catch up with you at the hotel," she said, taking Elio's hand and walking out.

"Real platonic, right Reggie," Moose jibed.

"Shut up Moose," retorted Reggie. After brief idle chatter, the remaining five left for the hotel and came back just in time for the joint team meeting between the respective football players and cheerleaders. Veronica had already arrived back.

"How did you get here so fast?" Reggie asked.

"Oh Elio drove me. Was really too much for him to do considering the traffic this time of year."

"Yeah, I'm sure he would be willing to fly you home too," Reggie said bitterly, walking away as Coach Clayton was about to give a few words, along with Coach Hebert.

The two coaches gave a few words about the rooming assignments and protocol for the following day and then dismissed the students to their rooming assignments. The teams were essentially curfewed in the hotel for the night. The teams collected their bags that had been stowed in the hotel's lobby and took the elevator to their rooms. Most of the men had been placed on a floor right above the girls.

Betty and Veronica rode up the elevator together, not exchanging any words until they worked together to find their room toward the corner of the rectangular hallway. The two ofcourse would not be rooming together for the night, but had to keep up that illusion till Coach Hebert checked in on their room.

"How was Elio? He seemed happy to see you," Betty said as they settled into their room.

"Oh, he was good." Veronica did not seem interested in having a conversation as she was placing her clothes away in a drawer.

"Is everything alright? It's okay if you're nervous about the game, I am too," Betty said while turning on the tv and sitting on her bed.

"It's Elio. He said something that was concerning to me. His father is a donor to Mr. Gregerson's campaign and he said that there was a leak about one of his past business expenditures. Long story short, Frederick is paranoid and he asked my dad for 'assistance.' I really don't like where this is going."

"Who was the source of the leak?" Betty asked concerned.

"Not your mom, he insisted to me that it wasn't her. So you have nothing to worry about Bets..." before she could finish, Coach Hebert knocked on the door to check the girls out for the night. The three had a brief conversation before the Coach left, with Betty leaving shortly thereafter. She went up the escalator and entered Archie's room, with the two sitting on their beds and watching tv.

"Alright guys, just leave the room in one piece when I get back," he said laughing and then exited the room, not before slapping Archie on the butt.

Betty turned bright red, realizing the two of them were finally alone.

"So, uhm, I guess the weather isn't too bad," Archie said matter of factly.

Before he could say anymore, Betty moved closer to him and began kissing him on the lips.

"I've waited all day to do that," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yeah, hanging out with the gang was nice, but I think I'm ready to spend some alone time with you," he said, positioning himself on the bed with Betty positioning herself on top of him, once again locking her lips. The two continued their tryst for and eventually stopped to lay on the bed, holding each other.

"Do you remember last year at the Welcome Back Dance, when I said we could be like a power couple. I was naive in thinking that, because I was wrong in seeing you as an object- someone of status I was trying to get. I realize you were always the same boy I knew as a kid and it was I that needed to check my ego and focus on being me"

"You always were the person you were Betty. And I'm far from perfect, I've made so many mistakes in the past, but I've been lucky to have you right here with me so I can learn from them. And I feel so safe with you wherever we move forward."

Betty turned red upon him saying that. "Speaking of which," she said with a pause. She bit her lip before she could start. "I'm- I'm ready. Tonight."

Archie's eyes dilated. "Tonight? Are you sure? I don't want you to feel..."

"I'm sure. I can just feel tonight is the night. That is if you feel the same way."

Archie nodded and slowly moved closer to kiss her. The two locked lips and assisted in undressing their shirts over their head. Betty began to undo her bra, but stopped and shuddered when she heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Archie said, getting up. Betty could only let out a groan. To her great surprise, it was Veronica at the door.

"Hey guys, I really hate to barge in but do you mind if I stay for the night? Reggie's just really gotten on my nerves and I don't feel like dealing with it for the night."

Archie looked over at Betty, who had a desecrated look on her face.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm sure you'll work it out by tomorrow," he said uneasily. Betty looked away to hide her displeasure.

"Yeah I'm sorry to be interrupting a surely romantic moment in the greatest city on Earth, but it just really bothered me and I'm stressed out by what Elio said to me," she said, starting to let out a few tears and embraced Archie with a hug.

"I know you two were probably about to go to bed, so I'll just get changed so you guys can your rest," she said, going into the bathroom. Betty shot Archie a dirty look, to which he could comically shrugged his shoulders. Betty's anger heightened when she saw Veronica walk out in only her bra and underwear, which left little to the imagination.

 _Really, she had to wear a freaking thong_ , Betty thought, as she stirred in her bed and pretended to get ready for sleep.

"Oh, and do you mind if I sleep in the same bed with you? I just got really antsy when I travel and feel nervous by myself," she said.

"Oh no problem, I'm sure we can all squeeze in," Archie said, moving over in the center so Veronica could get in. Betty faced the other said and only could roll her eyes. _This was such an obvious ploy. The worst part is, Archie is totally enjoying this right now. What guy wouldn't._

The three laid there for a while, with Betty unable to get to sleep. When she finally drifted off, she heard another knock at the door. As she looked around half-asleep, she saw Veronica turn on the lights and answer it. Outside were two police officers, with one holding up his badge.

"Archie Andrews," the police officer began, "You are wanted for aggravated assault and crossing state lines to evade a crime. You need to come with me immediately." Before Betty could even say a word, Archie obediently walked over to the cop and was handcuffed and escorted out the door.

A/N: Nope, this pic was not going to end on indefinite hiatus. With that said, the fic is about to come to a close, with only three chapters remaining. It's been a fun ride but Im ready to wrap this up all in a bow and have a proper ending. I don't even watch the show too much anymore, but I really feel a desire to finish this fic. Will everyone like it? Well, that's where it will get dicey.

Thanks for all the support and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. TTFN


End file.
